Bloodline
by chocolate-colombo
Summary: "Do you know what it's like? To have someone hate you out of pure jealousy?" Carlos knows. And it's not great. *Carlos angst and whumpage*
1. Big Brothers

**This idea came to me during my vacation, and since I've been in the mood for a Carlos-centric fic, I've been dying to start it. This story is a pre series fic, so it takes place in Minnesota. **

**I know this chapter seems like one large piece of drabble, but it'll get better at chapter two and so on. Promise!**

**But right now, Enjoy!**

**By the way, I don't own BTR. Duh.**

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><p>Growing up, Carlos always got the same question: "Why is your dad so old, and you're only 16?" Carlos would give them the same answer. He would tell them that he has two older brothers, ages 29 and 25. Once he said that, he'd get another question: "Why are your brothers so much older than you?" If he had some patience left, he'd explain it.<p>

Everyone knows that Carlos' mom is Sylvia Garcia, and she's way younger than Carlos' dad. The truth is, Sylvia is not his first wife. Juana Alvarez married Manuel Garcia and gave birth to Omar Garcia and Rafael Garcia four years later. They were happy. As a family, they got along great.

That was until one day, when Manuel and his partner were told to report to a major car accident. By the way it sounded, Manuel expected to see blood and gore. By now, he could handle it. What he couldn't handle, was driving to the scene and finding his wife's dead body being put on a stretcher, about to be placed in a body bag. His sons were only 9 and 5 at the time, so he couldn't think of a way to tell them.

The chief told Manuel to go home and not come to work until his wife had been buried. Manuel remembered crying all night, hiding from his sons. The next morning, when they asked where their mother was, he lost it. He told them of what happened and the three of them broke into tears. Manuel could tell that Omar had taken it the hardest. No one could blame him. From that time on, Manuel was just a shell of his former self. Juana was everything to him and just like that, she was gone.

Two years later, Sylvia came into the picture. He met her during a lunch break him and his partner took. He ran into her (literally) just outside a fast food restaurant. Of course, he said sorry, helped her off the ground and left, thinking he'd never see her again. Only to bump into her at that same restaurant, this time not working, a week later. The rest is history. At first, Manuel and Sylvia didn't think they should start a relationship because of the age difference. But soon that was ignored, and in no time, Sylvia had become part of the family.

Carlos was born when Omar had just turned 13, and Rafael, 9.

All his life, Carlos knew that Omar hated him. Omar's day wasn't complete unless he had injured Carlos in some way. If it wasn't for Rafael, Carlos can't say where he'd be today. Rafael was always Carlos' protector. Carlos never told Kendall and James the truth of what went on at home, and by the time Logan became a part of the group, Omar had moved out, so Carlos saw less of him. Any time Carlos did see him, he felt like a little kid all over again.

Omar's leaving wasn't peaceful either. Manuel had kicked him out. Carlos never told his parents of what went on between him and Omar. They found out after Rafael spoke up.

Carlos will never forget the day when he was six years old, climbing the large tree in their backyard. When he was almost to the top, he gasped in shock. Sitting on a branch close to him was Omar, trying to clear his head of the past week. Carlos knew what had been bothering him. It was Manuel and Sylvia's anniversary. They wouldn't be home all day because they went out to celebrate. Carlos decided to ask Omar a question that had constantly bugged him for years. "Why do you hate me and Mom so much?"

That question pretty much set off a time bomb. Omar began shouting at Carlos, talking about things that he really couldn't comprehend. Carlos can't tell anyone that he knew how he went from being in the top of the tree to the ground in just a few seconds. He couldn't tell because he really didn't know how it happened. Pain racked his little body as he felt the cuts and bruises that formed from the fall. Omar climbed out of the tree and walked away in anger.

The next thing he remembered was waking up at a hospital. The Diamonds and Knights were there along with the Garcia family, except Omar. Omar was no where to be found.

His parents repeatedly asked what happened. Carlos' only response was that he fell out of the tree.

Thankfully, he had no broken bones. But Carlos had never been injured this bad from falling out of a tree. His parents later gave up on the issue, feeling that if Carlos didn't want to tell, there was no way of convincing him otherwise.

It was only a week later when Carlos had come out of the hospital. Rafael felt the need to let his dad know of what he thought really happened. But first, he had to confess about everything he already knew.

Once Manuel was by himself, reading a newspaper in the living room, Rafael spoke up.

The fifteen year old mustered up all the courage he could in order to talk. "Dad. Can I talk to you for a minute?"

Manuel put the newspaper down. "Sure, mijo. Have a seat." Rafael sat next to his father. "What's wrong?"

Rafael sighed. "Dad. I haven't been completely honest with you." Manuel raised an eyebrow, begging Rafael to continue. "It's about Omar...and Carlos. I have a feeling that the reason why Carlos fell out of the tree had something to do with Omar."

Manuel was speechless. He knew Omar didn't get along very well with Carlos and Sylvia, but would he resort to physical violence? "What do you mean?"

Rafael played with his fingers. "I-I know what Omar does to Carlos when you and Mom aren't around." Calling Sylvia "mom" had become natural to Rafael. Unlike Omar, he accepted her. "I know every time you see a new bruise on Carlos, he tells you that it's from a playground accident, or it's a sports injury. Well he lied." Rafael sighed once again. "They're from Omar. Omar always hits Carlos. And these aren't hits you normally give to your little brother. Omar uses his fists. Repeatedly until I make him stop or until Carlos starts crying and begs him to stop." Rafael hated the look in his father's eyes. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier. Carlos begged me not to and honestly, I was afraid that Omar would do something to Carlos if anyone of us told you. I'm sorry."

Manuel shook his head. He put his hand on Rafael's back. "You have nothing to be sorry for. Some cop I am. Something was going on in my house and I ignored it. Don't worry, I'll make sure nothing happens to you and Carlos. But Rafael, your mom and I can't let Omar continue to do this to Carlos."

Rafael nodded. "I understand, Dad. Just do it fast, okay?"

And that's what happened. Carlos was asleep when the conversation between Omar and their father started. But he definitely woke up when Omar began yelling, because it was then that Carlos knew what had happened. Dad found out.

After Omar walked out the door, Carlos saw him only twice for the next ten years. He and Rafael never broke contact. When Rafael decided that it was time to move out, Carlos cried. He won't lie about that. But he realized that it was okay, because Rafael was still living close, and he always made sure that him and Carlos still hung out and talked.

Carlos had never forgotten about Omar. He hoped that one day, Omar would change and not be mad at everyone anymore, but he gave up on that thought a long time ago.

So when Carlos one summer day was heading out to go meet up with Kendall, James, and Logan, his heart almost beat out of his chest when he heard a very familiar voice say, "Hey, little brother."

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><p><strong>Like I said. Drabble. But be patient with me. It won't be drabble for long. I hope.<strong>

**Anyway. For now. You know the drill. You've read it. Now review it. I take requests also, so if there's something you're dying to see, lemme know. :)  
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	2. Family Reunion

**Well this came quicker than I thought it would. **

**Anyway. Enjoy! :D  
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><p>"O-Omar," Carlos acknowledged his estranged older brother. He tried his best to not seem scared, but he had a feeling that he wasn't succeeding. "What are you doing here?"<p>

Omar smiled. "I actually have a friend that lives close by. I was thinking about you and Rafael today. I don't know where he is right now. But I knew I'd find you here." He walked closer to Carlos. His eyes moved up and down, like he was examining his little brother. "My, how you've grown," he said with a smile. "Not very much, but a few more inches more than when I last saw you." Omar had a good four inches on Carlos. "I see you took after Sylvia in the height aspect."

Carlos wasn't amused. He was cautious. Cautious that Omar might try something. Beatings from Omar was a part of his life he'd rather not travel back to. "You mean you just happen to have a friend around this area, and after not seeing me for how many years, you decide to pay me a visit?" Carlos was skeptical. "Look. I needa meet up with the guys." He began making his way off the porch, passing Omar, until he felt a hand roughly grab his wrist. Carlos winced in pain.

"If you wanna hear the truth, you could be a little nicer," Omar joked. "Look, I heard about our abuelo."

Carlos' eyes perked up at that statement. "And you're coming by because you care?" he asked, raising up one eyebrow.

"The man has less than two weeks left. I know dad's taking it hard. I can't imagine what he's going through. I know if Dad were to die-"

Carlos interrupted him. "Shut up. Just shut up! You stopped caring about Dad a long time ago! Cut the act!" He tried hard to make sure tears didn't form in his eyes. But the pain of losing his grandfather wasn't helping either. Omar shook his head in disbelief. Before Carlos could guess what his older was going to do, he felt the sting of a backhand slap on his right cheek. "I see not much has changed," both brothers said at the same time.

Carlos just stared, shocked. Rafael, Dad, and his three best friends weren't around. What if Omar was just getting started?

"Get outta here, kid," Omar said, interrupting Carlos' thoughts. "I'll catch up with you later." Omar paused, pretending to be thinking. "Oh and don't tell Dad and Sylvia that I came by. I want to surprise them." Omar winked. Carlos sped away, wanting to erase from his mind the unwanted reunion with his brother.

"Don't worry little brother," Omar said once Carlos was gone. "You'll be seeing more of me soon." Omar walked away from the house, planning to definitely come back later.

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><p>Logan had noticed that Carlos' eyes were red a puffy, and that worried him. James and Kendall saw that Carlos' right side of his face was red, but they didn't want to bring it up, thinking that it was nothing.<p>

The boys knew that Carlos thinking about his dying grandfather was hard for him. They knew he was upset over the fact that he didn't get to see his grandfather as much as would have liked. They made sure that Carlos knew that he could count on his friends to give him a shoulder to cry on if he needed one.

They couldn't help but think that Carlos had been a little distant from them. But Carlos could never really take sad situations very well, and his grandfather having only a couple weeks left was definitely a sad situation.

While at Kendall's house, Carlos spent the entire time praying that his best friends didn't see past his saying "I'm fine" or "Nothing's wrong. I had a late night with Rafael so I'm just a little tired." Carlos had cried the entire way from his house to Kendall's. He hated that Omar's return was affecting him this bad already. He shrugged it off eventually, reasoning that Omar never stays. That may be the last time to see him for a while. Hopefully.

For the first time in his life, Carlos was glad to get away from his friends that evening. He felt their eyes boring on him, and he hated it. He finally left to go meet up with his family. He knew that by now, his parents and Rafael would be at the house. His parents planned a trip to Puerto Rico. They were to leave in a few days, and they wouldn't come back until after the funeral.

When Carlos walked into his house, he was greeted by his parents and Rafael, who had a serious look on his face. Clothes were scattered across the living room, waiting to be put in suitcases. "Hey, everybody," he said with a smile. His smile quickly faded when he saw Omar walk out of the kitchen, holding a can of soda.

Omar smiled. "Carlos!" He approached Carlos, who backed away slightly. "Wow, you've grown so much." Carlos knew what Omar was doing. Omar never told Mom and Dad about their encounter this morning. Why would he?

"He was asking about you when he came," Rafael said, his eyes darting between his two brothers.

"I insisted we call you and let you know he was here," Sylvia said. "But Omar wanted to surprise you."

Carlos gave a small smile. The fact that his parents seemed okay with Omar's presence told him that something was okay. He looked over at Omar. "Well, thanks for coming by." He made his way into the kitchen, suddenly thirsty. He got himself a cold glass of water and drank greedily.

"I'm not comfortable with him here, either," a voice said that made Carlos jump and choke on his water. He saw Rafael standing by the door of the kitchen. Rafael took a seat on a bar stool. "If I see anything wrong. I mean anything, I'll make sure he never sees you again, okay?" Carlos nodded. Rafael sighed. "You seemed a little jumpy when you walked in."

"N-no. It's nothing. Really. I just wasn't expecting him to be here."

"You're my little brother. And I can tell when you're lying to me. I'm hurt," Rafael said with a smile on his face as he gave a playful punch on Carlos' arm. "Omar came about thirty minutes before you entered. He told Mom and Dad that he's here to show support. He apologized to them, for not being around earlier, that is." Rafael looked down, hoping that Carlos would cut in and say something. "If you have anything to tell me, now would be a good time."

Carlos was growing frustrated. Not because Rafael was being over protective and nosy, but because his brain was refusing to let himself say anything. "Honest, Rafael. Everything's okay." Omar hadn't done anything bad. It was just a slap he got earlier. That wasn't too bad, right?

Rafael stood up. "Okay. Mom and Dad said they'll still keep an eye on him. Dad's been a cop long enough to know that just because someone says he's turning around, doesn't mean it'll happen. Let's head out to the living room. I don't want big bro to get suspicious."

Carlos and Rafael walked into the living room to find that their parents were no longer there, just Omar playing on his phone. "Where'd Mom and Dad go?" Carlos asked, sounding like a child.

"Phone call from Puerto Rico. They had to go upstairs. Sounds serious." Omar's expression on his face was cold. Carlos, on the other hand, had already assumed the worst. Did abuelo die? Were Mom and Dad too late to say their last goodbyes? Tears began to form in his eyes, until he saw his parents walking down the stairs.

"Dad!" Carlos called out. "Is everything okay?"

Manuel nodded. "He's still alive," he began, already knowing what was going on in Carlos' head. "It was actually my sister that called. Apparently, our father is leaving behind some stuff for us. My sister wants to make sure that we're all there for that too."

"So, you're staying longer?" Carlos asked.

Manuel nodded. "But just a day. Your Tia Carmen made sure that we're not held back there for too long."

Carlos gave a sigh of relief. He knew his grandfather didn't have a lot of time left, but he wanted his grandfather to live out everyday that he had left. He would have hated it if his grandfather died earlier than he should, even if it was just by days.

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><p>Carlos hadn't felt so tired in his life. Usually, he'd stay up until three in the morning and still be able to wake up in the morning. But today, as soon as the clock read 11:00PM, Carlos said good night to everybody (including Omar, who was still there for some reason), changed into his favorite pajamas, and crawled into bed.<p>

Once he was done snuggling under the blankets and ready to close his eyes, Rafael and Manuel walked in. Carlos sat up, confused. "Dad? Rafael? What's up?"

They both took a seat on the edge of the bed. Manuel spoke first. "I know that you're uncomfortable with Omar around-"

Carlos' eyebrows shot up. Was he becoming that easy to read? "Nah, it's okay. Really."

Manuel shook off Carlos' badly done lie. "Well I'll admit that I don't. Normally, I wouldn't mind you being in the house by yourself when your mother and I go places, but Rafael and I have decided that since we don't really know what's going on in Omar's head right now," he said for lack of better words. "You're gonna be staying with Rafael at his apartment."

Carlos smiled. "Okay."

"And I know I live about thirty minutes away from here, but if you ever want to have your friends over, as long as you ask me first, you guys can hang out at my place." Carlos couldn't complain about that. Rafael's apartment (almost condo) had an amazing entertainment set. "We just want to make sure that you feel safe, okay?" Rafael said.

Carlos nodded. "Thanks, bro."

Manuel and Rafael stood up, ready to take their leave. Manuel said good night to Carlos, kissed him on the forehead, and walked out. Rafael got closer to Carlos and said, "You know that as long as I'm alive, nothing can hurt you, baby bro." Both brothers smiled. "I gotta start heading home now. I have work tomorrow. Good night, Carlitos."

Carlos smiled as he returned to his original position on the bed and closed his eyes. He knew that with Rafael, he was always safe. And that's all that mattered to him.

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><p><strong>Rafael is awesome. <strong>

**Hope you liked it. Leave a review please. You know I love 'em!**

**And for those who aren't reading my other BTR story, I Just Need One Miracle, on the chapter that I uploaded today, I put the lyrics to 50 Cent's "In Da Club" song...I would have totally done that for this story too...but my fingers and brain are screaming NO! They always win :/  
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	3. Super Smash Bros

**Action picks up here. **

**I think this is my longest chapter. (Say what?)  
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**Enjoy!**

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><p>Kendall, Logan, and James met at Carlos' a few days later. "I don't get it," Kendall said. Manuel and Sylvia would be leaving today, and Carlos was getting his things ready to stay over at Rafael's. "Your parents let you stay home by yourself last year on their anniversary trip to Spain. Why do they want Rafael babysitting you now?"<p>

Carlos sighed. "No reason." He shrugged. "Rafael just likes having me around. Mom and Dad didn't have enough money to take me along this time around, and Rafael's money is a little tight, so we kinda feel bad for not going, you know?"

"Is Omar going?" Logan asked, knowing that Carlos doesn't see him much.

Carlos shook his head. "He could barely afford lunch, let alone a plane ticket."

"Did he at least send his condolences?" James asked, noticing the bitterness in Carlos' voice.

The boys always noticed Carlos tense up at the mention of Omar. Anytime one of them would say, "Hey, how's Omar?" or "It's been a while since we've seen Omar..." he'd say he was okay and quickly change the subject. Logan met Omar when the boys were ten, and he immediately got a bad vibe off him. It was only after the boys had started middle school was when Carlos told them the partial truth about Omar: He did drugs, and he'd do anything to get money for his next fix.

Carlos shrugged. "Yeah. He came by a few nights ago."

The boys heard a knock on Carlos' bedroom door. His parents walked in. "Hi boys," Sylvia greeted. "Looks like we're ready to go."

Carlos went up to his parents and kissed them good bye. His friends said bye to them.

"Your mom was so nice in volunteering to take us to the airport," Manuel said to Kendall. Jennifer Knight offered to take the Garcias, since Carlos couldn't drive yet and Rafael works at this time. The boys walked the Garcias to Jennifer's van.

"Thanks Mama Knight," Carlos said, once his parents were situated in the van and ready to leave. "Bye Mami. Bye Papi." The boys waved as the van drove off.

Kendall checked his watch and sighed. "I gotta head to work. My boss has been hounding me about being on time. I'll see you guys later."

"See ya later, Kendall," James said. After Kendall walked away, James said, "Let's play some video games."

Carlos and Logan jumped at the suggestion. "I'll get the pie," Carlos said as he made his way into the kitchen. James and Logan set up the games system. "What are we playing?" Carlos asked once he sat on the couch. Sweet potato pie was placed on the table.

"Super Smash Bros." Logan took a forkful of pie and shoved it into his mouth. "And I will once again embarrass you guys," he said as he picked his favorite character. Ike. Carlos didn't hesitate in picking Kirby, and James chose Mario.

The boys played an intense game. James' phone went off as the game's announcer yelled, "Sudden Death!" After Logan destroyed James' character with a blink of an eye, James checked his text message.

James sighed. 'Aw man. It's my mom. She wants me to go to her office." He rolled his eyes. "I hate that place and her customers. Sorry guys. I gotta go."

Carlos and Logan looked a little sad, but they shrugged it off. "Go ahead," Carlos said. "You know better than to say no to your mother."

James reluctantly left, leaving Logan and Carlos by themselves. "You don't have anywhere to go, do you?" Carlos joked.

Logan shook his head and smiled. "Thank God, no. Both my parents are at work and I don't have a job."

"Cool," Carlos said as he got even more comfortable on the couch. "So what game do you wanna play next? You're no fun with Super Smash Bros."

Logan rolled his eyes. "You're just jealous because to this day the nerd is still undefeated."

"That's not true!" Carlos defended himself while pouting and crossing his arms. "I just...You...Okay I just don't like you beating me all the time."

After agreeing to play an NHL game, the boys heard a knock at the door. Carlos sighed as he went to answer the door. Carlos froze once the open door revealed who was on the other side. "H-hey Omar." What's with the stuttering? "What are you doing here?" Carlos asked out of plain curiosity.

Omar ruffled Carlos' hair and helped himself to the couch. "Hey Logan."

Logan gave a nervous smile. "Hey Omar. Nice to see you," he lied.

Omar looked to Carlos. "Mom and Dad already leave?" Carlos nodded quickly. Omar sighed. "Aw man. I was so tied up with what I was doing, I couldn't come earlier. I was hoping to see them before they left."

"They left about two hours ago. Dad said he talked to you yesterday. Kendall's mom took them. So..." Carlos said. Hoping to hint to Omar that he should leave.

"So are you gonna be staying here while they're gone?"

Carlos shook his head. "Rafael's picking me up after work. I'm staying at his place."

Omar smiled. "I figured. I always had a feeling that Rafael liked you more than he liked me. You two have always been inseparable."

Logan gave Carlos a look that said, "Should I leave?" Carlos' eyes widened as he shook his head quickly. Omar saw the exchange between the two boys. "Sorry that I'm interrupting your day but I gotta talk to Carlos if that's okay with you." Omar gave Logan a hard look. One that Logan had always been afraid of.

Carlos glanced at Logan as he prepared to leave. "See you later, Logie," he said, sadly. Carlos watched as the front door shut closed. Logan left him. All alone with Omar.

"You still call him 'Logie'? Nice,' Omar said in a mocking tone. He stood up and got closer to Carlos. "Yeah. Dad _did_talk to me last night."

"Okay," Carlos said as he subconsciously took a step back, away from Omar. "What'd Dad say?"

Omar cracked his knuckles. "I'll ask questions first. You tell Dad anything about me recently?"

Carlos shook his head. "Nothing. I swear." Carlos was glancing at Omar's fist that formed at his side.

Omar slowly nodded. "Really? Then why was Dad giving me some stupid speech about how I shouldn't hurt his son?" Omar threw a fist that landed on Carlos' stomach. "What you tell him?"

Carlos was hunched over in pain. "N-nothing. I-I don't know what he meant about that." Carlos began crying. "Please don't hurt me. I didn't say anything."

Omar shook his head, not believing him. He punched Carlos again, this time making the little one land on the floor. "You think I'm stupid or something?' He kicked Carlos stomach. Carlos curled up on his side as the blows to his body continued to come. Each kick came harder than the last.

Carlos began hyperventilating. "P-please stop. I didn't do anything."

Omar couldn't get himself to believe Carlos. He crouched down to be closer to Carlos' level. "You're pathetic. Can't even own up to something you did." Omar put his hand around Carlos' neck. His hand was loose enough to let Carlos breathe, but tight enough to scare him.

In Carlos mind, no oxygen was coming into his body. He couldn't breathe and thought for sure that he was going to die. "D-don't do this p-please. I'm sorry."

Omar's eyebrows shot up. He leaned in closer to Carlos. "I'm sorry. What was that?"

"I s-said I'm sorry," Carlos repeated as tears fell from his face.

Omar let go of Carlos. "That's better." Omar made his way to the door. "I thought I told you what would happen if you do something stupid. Consider this a reminder." Omar walked out, leaving his crying, half conscious, little brother on the floor of the living room.

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><p>Rafael was so glad that his boss had allowed him to leave a little early in order to pick up Carlos. Rafael was one of the best with his jobs and once he told his boss what was going on, his boss gladly let him leave.<p>

He called Carlos' phone, wanting to ask if Carlos wanted any food picked up. When he got Carlos' voicemail, he regarded it as nothing, figuring that Carlos must be completely "busy", and they could pick up food together later.

As he was nearing his parents' neighborhood, he spotted Logan walking. He drove closer and rolled down his window. "Hey Logan! The Garcia house is that way!" Rafael yelled as he pointed to the opposite direction Logan was walking.

Logan smiled. "I know! I was hoping Carlos and I coulda hung out longer today, but we were kinda interrupted."

Rafael raised one eyebrow. "Interrupted? By who or what?"

"Omar."

Alarms in Rafael's head went off. "Logan! Get in!"

Logan quickly got into the front seat, confused by what the panic was about. Rafael sped to the house, which was thankfully just a few minutes away. Once he reached the house, he turned off his car and he and Logan ran to the front door. Rafael used his spare key to get in.

Logan and Rafael were greeted by the prone body of Carlos Garcia. "Carlos!" They both yelled as they ran to his side.

Rafael took his little brother by the shoulders and shook him. "Vamos Carlos! Despierta." Rafael sighed in defeat.

Logan could feel his chest tightening at the sight of his best friend looking dead on the floor.

Rafael began to tear up when he saw Carlos finally open his eyes. "Carlos. You okay, buddy?" Rafael couldn't help but give himself a mental slap. Of course Carlos wasn't okay. He was just found passed out on the floor! Carlos had a dazed look in his eyes. "We're gonna get you to a hospital, okay?"

Carlos shook his head and clutched his stomach. "No. Please," he begged as his voice kept breaking. "I'll be fine. No hospital. Please."

"You were just found passed out on the floor!" Logan yelled. "You look like you're in a lot of pain, you sound like you're having trouble breathing, and you can barely talk!"

"Logan's right, Carlitos! There's no way that I'll let you walk around like nothing happened. You're going to the hospital and you're gonna tell me what happened!"

Carlos jumped at the sudden aggressiveness in his brother's voice, but kept firm in his argument. "No really. I'm okay. I don't need a hospital. Please don't make me go." Carlos began crying, thinking that Rafael and Logan weren't going to listen to him and make him go to a hospital anyway.

Instead, Rafael and Logan looked at each other, giving into defeat. Rafael sighed. "Okay, Carlos. I won't make you go to the hospital." Carlos crying slowed down. "But I have rules!" Rafael said. "I'm going to take you to my apartment. You're going to take some pains meds and sleep, you got that?" Carlos nodded. "And you're also gonna tell me what happened." Rafael already knew what happened. It wasn't rocket science. But he needed to hear it from Carlos' mouth.

Carlos tensed up at the last rule. He didn't want to tell Rafael what went on. What if Omar came back?

Logan glanced at the Garcia brothers. "You know, Carlos. If you don't tell Rafael what happened, he's gonna make you go to the hospital."

Rafael nodded and Carlos' eyes grew wide. He gave into defeat. "Okay okay. I'll talk."

"Great," Rafael said as he lifted his brother off the floor and carried him bridal style. "Let's go." Logan quickly ran to Carlos' bedroom to get the stuff Carlos packed earlier. Rafael laid Carlos in the back seat. Carlos was asleep within seconds. Logan caught a ride to his house from Rafael. On the way to the Mitchell house, Rafael explained the Omar situation in a nutshell.

"That's why he staying with you this time around," Logan said in amazement. This was a lot for him to take in.

"Yeah. It's always been hard for him but he hides it well, you know? And that really scares me." Rafael stole a glance at the back seat to see Carlos still asleep. Once he pulled into Logan's house, Rafael said, "Hey Logan. Thanks for helping out today."

Logan gave his signature smirk. "No problem, Rafael. See you later."

Once Rafael was sure that Logan it inside safely, Rafael sped to his apartment. How he was able to not get a speeding ticket was beyond anyone. He parked his car, grabbed his brother, and his stuff, and took him to the apartment.

He needed to wake up Carlos. He didn't want to, seeing as how peaceful his brother looked, but he knew Carlos needed to take medicine, otherwise he'd feel way more pain in the morning.

He gently tapped Carlos' face. "Hey. Hey buddy. Wake up. You need to take some medicine." Carlos opened his eyes half lidded. Rafael gave him some night time Aleve and a glass of water. "Take these and you can go back to sleep, okay?"

Carlos nodded, took the medicine, and soon was back asleep on the couch.

It was then that Rafael flashed back to finding Carlos on the living room floor of their parents house. Carlos rough breathing and him clutching his stomach. Rafael examined Carlos, and noticed faint bruising on his neck. He gently lifted up Carlos' shirt only to see his entire abdomen littered in bruises.

Rage built up in Rafael. "Omar won't get away with this."

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><p><strong>Carlos whump was inevitable.<strong>

**I'm not promising anything! But, I'll be updating this story and my other one a little more frequently. Hopefully.  
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**Don't forget to review!(They help me work faster)  
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	4. Oops I Said It

**Here's the next chapter!  
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**I want to say thank you to everyone who reviewed, Favorited, and alerted this story. You guys rock!**

**Anyway, on to the story. Enjoy!**

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><p>Rafael was restless. Why wouldn't he be? His brother had attacked his other brother. That was just messed up.<p>

So here he was, awake at 2:38 in the morning, though he had work to go to, thinking about his previous day.

Rafael sighed, seeing as how he wasn't going to get any sleep even if he tried. He went into the kitchen and found something to eat. Well. Kind of. He found a pudding cup and made due with that.

The kitchen was next to the living room, so Rafael could see Carlos' sleeping form on the couch. He finished his pudding cup, and headed back to bed.

Every time he closed his eyes, images of Carlos had played in his head. First was finding Carlos on the living room floor with his tear stained face. Then, past images came up. He remembered six year old Carlos in the hospital after Omar pushed him out of the tree. He remembered Carlos crying to sleep the last time Omar came around years ago.

"Dios mio," Rafael breathed out as sleep began to creep up on him. He snuggled further into his blanket.

Then he heard footsteps entering his room. "Carlitos?" Rafael asked sleepily when he saw his little brother inching closer to the bed.

"Sorry Rafael," Carlos said in a small voice. "Did I wake you up?"

Rafael shook his head. "No. No, Carlos. What's up?"

Carlos looked down, almost seeming...embarrassed? "I-I had a bad dream. C-can I stay here?"

Rafael nodded. "Uh yeah. Yeah," he responded. His voice full of concern. He scoot over on his bed, giving Carlos enough room to climb on. Once Carlos was comfortable, Rafael asked, "You wanna talk about it?"

Carlos was silent for a while. And Rafael almost thought he'd fallen asleep until Carlos whispered, "It was about Omar."

"Was it about yesterday?" Carlos shook his head. "About another time?" Rafael guessed again. "What happened?"

Carlos got closer to his brother. "I...I d-died."

Rafael froze. "He killed you?" Carlos nodded. "Carlos, I'm not gonna let that happen. Ever."

"I know."

Rafael sighed. "I'm gonna pay Omar a visit soon. This needs to stop."

"No," Carlos protested.

"I'm tired of you always letting him get away with what he's doing to you!" Carlos jumped at the sound of his voice. "Sorry hermanito," Rafael started rubbing Carlos' arm. "But I gotta do something about this."

That's when Carlos raised his voice. "You don't understand! Omar came because Dad called him! He thought I told Dad about the slap I got from him a few days before! Omar said the beating was a reminder of what would happen if I snitched!" Carlos lost control and started crying.

Rafael tried to wrap his head around everything that his brother had just said. "Wait. Slap? He slapped you? When?"

Carlos cursed himself and his big mouth. "Th-the day he came by," he said between sobs. "He came by that morning before I went to Kendall's house. I'm sorry I didn't tell any of you guys but I just couldn't do it." Carlos put his head on Rafael's chest as he cried for seemed like forever.

Rafael rubbed Carlos' back until his breathing began evening out. Carlos had fallen asleep, leaving Rafael awake, wallowing in his thoughts.

Rafael finally fell asleep at 4:50. Too bad he has to wake up at 6:30 to get ready for work.

* * *

><p>Carlos woke up with a headache. Strange, seeing as how he wasn't hit in the head at all yesterday. He glanced at Rafael's digital clock and saw that it was 11:45AM. He sluggishly got out of bed, feeling very hungry.<p>

He discovered a note from Rafael on the kitchen counter.

Carlos,  
>I made pancakes for ya! They're in the fridge.<br>Don't worry about what I said last night. I won't talk to Omar...yet.  
>You and I needa figure something out together.<br>You might wanna call Logan.  
>See ya later.<p>

Carlos smirked at his brother's "straight to the point" note. At least now the secret was still between him and Rafael...and Logan!

Carlos grabbed his cell phone and quickly dialed Logan's number. Hopefully, Logan wasn't quick in telling the other guys what he had witnessed. He gave a sigh of relief when he heard Logan answer the phone.

_"Hey Carlos."_

"Hey Logan," Carlos replied nervously. "Listen, I was calling about...last night."

Logan sighed at the mention of it. _"I wish you hadn't kept that a secret, you know."_

Carlos had already begun to feel guilty. "I know Logie. I'm real sorry. I was scared and Omar he's-"

Logan cut off Carlos' rambling._ "Okay, breathe, Carlos. How are you feeling? You really scared us last night."_

"I'm sorry. I-"

_"Stop apologizing,"_ Logan cut of once again. _"It's not your fault. If anything, all the blame goes to Omar...and me. I shoulda never left you there by yourself."_

"If you had stayed, he probably woulda hurt you too Logie! I'm glad you left. I woulda never forgiven myself if Omar had done anything to you!" There was silence on the line for a while, until Carlos heard random noises coming from the line. "Logie? You still there?" Carlos heard a voice. A voice that wasn't Logan's. "K-Kendall? Logan, is Kendall there?"

_"He just now walked in I swear!"_ Logan was hoping that Carlos wasn't going to jump to conclusions.

Carlos heard Kendall ask, "What's going on, Logan? Is that Carlos?"

Carlos panicked. He didn't know exactly what to do. So he did what every panicked teenager does. He hung up. Quickly. He couldn't have Kendall finding out anything. It was bad enough that Logan now knew what was going on. But unlike Logan, Kendall's hard headed, and he's not afraid to confront anyone.

Carlos dropped his phone once it started ringing. Logan was trying to call him. He didn't know what to do.

He hated it, but he decided to not answer it. Carlos couldn't tell how the conversation would end up, and he couldn't afford another "slip of the tongue".

Carlos didn't know what possessed himself to tell Rafael about Omar slapping him the other day. Carlos also didn't know that Rafael knew the reason, and it was this: Carlos was tired. Not physically tired, seeing as how he slept for over fifteen hours during the previous night, but tired in general. He was tired of Omar. He was tired of not being able to do anything about Omar. He was tired of lying.

As he began heating up his pancakes in the microwave, he listened to the message Logan left on his phone.

_"Hey Carlos. It's Logan. Look, you shouldn't have freaked out like you did. Kendall doesn't know anything about this. He just came to drop something off. But you can't keep this a secret forever, you know. If I found out about Omar the way I did yesterday, just imagine how James and Kendall would find out. Think about that. We don't want you hurting, Carlos. If you don't do something about this soon, we will. And you know Rafael is included. Call me back, okay?"_

Logan can get aggressive when he wanted to.

Carlos sighed. Logan was right. Hiding what Omar had done wasn't helping him. And he hated to think of how James and Kendall would find out. _At my funeral?_ Carlos shook the thought out of his head. No. That won't happen.

He dialed Logan's number.

_"Hey Carlos. Got my message?"_

"Y-yeah Logie. I did. You're right. I need to tell the guys."

* * *

><p><strong>Now I'm off to go work on my other BTR story. (I've been slacking.)<strong>

**Hope you loved it!  
><strong>


	5. Rafael Is Dead

**Okay, so who's ready for the next chapter? **

**This chapter made me sad just writing it. You'll see why.  
><strong>

**Still don't own BTR...or Spongebob and the Campfire Song Song.**

**Enjoy!  
><strong>

* * *

><p>Omar was pacing his best friend's apartment. "Bryan. I'm in huge trouble."<p>

Bryan rolled his eyes. He was sitting comfortably on his couch, watching as Omar lost his nerve. "Relax. You've owed Johnny money before. He always cuts you a break. If I owed him even $5, he'd kill me, then dance at my funeral."

Omar sighed. "He's really hounding me about this. I owed him almost $9,000! I paid him $5,000 and he's always giving me trouble about the last $4,000 I owe. What do I do?"

"First of all, you do the thing I've always told you to do: don't accept a fix if you can't pay," Bryan began, putting on his "smart voice" that he always had when he decides to be the voice of reason. It was pretty rare. "Second, you have two weeks! You've come up with more money in less time. Besides, what's the worst he'll do to you? You're valuable to him."

Omar paused and thought. "Hey, you're right. He can't do anything to me. So what about the money, though? He'll still expect something." Omar started panicking again.

"You think Johnny has the balls to kill a cop's son?" Bryan asked. "Johnny has guts but even he has limits."

Omar shrugged. "Remember Calvin? His dad is a Navy man, and that didn't stop Johnny."

Bryan scoffed. "You're kidding right? First of all, that bullet wasn't for Calvin. It was for his girlfriend. He just decided to play hero that day. Johnny doesn't kill his own people. He goes after those around us. Guilt is the best punishment you know."

"Okay. Any money ideas?"

"Got any piece of gold jewelery?" Bryan asked as he handed Omar a joint.

It was Omar's turn to roll his eyes. "Whatever, bro." Omar took a seat next to Bryan. The both of them were high shortly after.

* * *

><p>Carlos was watching Spongebob and eating a corn dog. The Camping Episode was on and he couldn't miss it. It was his favorite.<p>

After the C-A-M-P-F-I-R-E-S-ON-G Song finished, he heard a noise coming from the door. It was 6:30PM, so he figured it was Rafael, since he got off around that time anyway.

"Rafael! You missed the Campfire Song Song," Carlos said once he heard the door open. After not receiving a response, he turned around, only to find out the Rafael wasn't at the door. Carlos gasped. "O-Omar?"

Omar smirked. "Hey hermanito." Carlos flinched at Omar's words. Only Rafael called him hermanito. "Weren't you expecting me?"

Carlos hesitated to answer. With Omar, you always had to choose your words wisely. "H-how do you know where Rafael lives?" Carlos suddenly couldn't breathe. He felt like a six year old kid all over again. He kept looking over Omar's shoulder, hoping that at any moment, Rafael would walk in and save him.

Omar chuckled. "You know the people I know, you know about everything." Omar paused before speaking. "Like how you told your friends that I abused you?"

Carlos felt his hands become sweaty. "...I-I don't know what you're talking about."

Carlos gave a sigh of relief when he spotted Rafael coming in. "What are you doing here, Omar?"

Omar turned around. He had a happy expression on his face. "Oh. Rafael. How ya doing?"

"Rafael wasn't amused. "How'd you get in? How do even know where I live?" Rafael spoke again before Omar could respond. "You know what? Forget it. Get out. Now."

Omar shrugged. "I just wanted to talk to my little brothers. Is that okay?"

"No," Rafael replied. He gestured toward the door.

Omar exhaled dramatically. "Fine," he said as he held up his hands as if he were surrendering. He turned to the door, but quickly turned back around, pulling out a gun from the back of his pants and pointing it toward Rafael. He heard Carlos cry out Rafael's name. "You guys sure like making things difficult."

Rafael seemed pretty calm through all of this. Carlos, on the other hand, not so much. "Omar! What are you doing? Don't shoot him please?"

Omar scoffed. "Are you kidding me?" He turned to Carlos and stared him straight in the eyes. "I warned you that bad things would happen if you didn't keep your mouth shut."

Rafael looked to Carlos. "Everything's gonna be alright, okay hermanito." He flashed a big smile, hoping that Carlos would be soothed a little bit. It didn't work.

Carlos looked at his cell phone, which was placed on the table in front of the couch. Omar must have known what was on Carlos' mind, because when Carlos' eyes started drifting back and forth between his phone and Rafael, Omar shook his head. "Not the best idea, kid."

"Why are you doing this?" Carlos said, while sobbing uncontrollably.

Omar smiled. "So I can see your reaction when I do this." Omar pulled the trigger, and Rafael fell to the ground. Blood poured out of his chest as he struggled to breathe.

Carlos ran to his side. "Rafael! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Please be okay."

Rafael found all his strength to try to talk to his brother and calm him down. "It's okay, Carlos." Rafael flinched at the pain in his chest. He felt himself slipping, but he had to say one thing before he did. "I love you, little bro. J-just stay strong, no matter what happens. Promise me."

Carlos couldn't think straight. "Y-you shouldn't b-be talking. Save your strength, okay?"

"Promise me," Rafael insisted.

Carlos slowly nodded his head. "I-I promise."

"Good," Rafael said as he closed his eyes.

Carlos' breathing increased as he saw his brother close his eyes. "Rafael," he said in a small voice. "Rafael! Wake up, please!" Carlos watched as the small rise and fall of Rafael's chest ceased to nothing. Rafael was dead. He was dead and it was all his fault. Anger boiled inside of Carlos. Omar was still there, watching sadistically as Rafael died. He lunged at Omar and punched him in the face. Omar was stunned for a little bit, but shook it off as he raised his gun.

"Remember that this was your fault," Omar said as he pulled the trigger.

Carlos felt pain radiate through his body. Then everything went black.

* * *

><p>Carlos eyes shot open after hearing his brother's distant voice call his name repeatedly. "Did I fall asleep?" Carlos asked, very confused.<p>

Rafael had a worried look on his face as he answered. "Yeah, buddy. I walked in on you whispering my name. You had another nightmare about Omar, didn't you?"

"I don't think I can do it, Rafael." Carlos looked down at the ground, with his look of embarrassment again. Funny how that look comes more often when Omar's in the picture.

Rafael put a hand on Carlos' shoulder, already knowing what Carlos was talking about. "They need to know. They can help you through this."

"But you've helped me through it!" Carlos protested. "Why do they need to know?"

Rafael sighed. "Listen, buddy. You won't have me around all the time. But if your friends know, they can protect you when Dad and I aren't there. If Logan had known that Omar was abusive, do you think he woulda left you alone with him?"

"No," Carlos sighed in defeat. "But what's telling them gonna solve? You don't think I've called the cops on him? Even Dad arrested him once! His friends always get him out. He'll always come back! And I don't want you and my friends getting hurt because of it!"

Rafael pulled Carlos into a hug. "I can't promise to always be there. I can't promise that I can protect you from everything. But I can promise that Omar can't do any worse to me than he has to you. You're just gonna have to trust me."

"Thanks, bro," Carlos said, hoping that tears wouldn't fall from his eyes. "You never let me down."

Carlos and Rafael separated. "Now buck up, hermanito." Rafael said while hitting Carlos' arm. "Tomorrow's Saturday, so you tell your little friends that they can come over tomorrow. Everybody hangs out, then you break the news and allow the awkward silence to linger." He flashed his signature smile.

Carlos rolled his eyes as he pulled out his cell phone and sent his friends a simple text:

_Rafael's place tomorrow. 3PM :D_

* * *

><p><strong>Did you seriously think that I'd kill Rafael? <strong>

**Did ya like it?**

**Let me know!  
><strong>


	6. My Confessions

_**Wow this was hard to write. Had a bit of writer's block but I'm all good now.**_

**Thought I should start this chapter with a flashback.**

**Still don't own these guys. But I do own Rafael...and Omar...but that doesn't mean you should hate me. Ahem**

**So enjoy!  
><strong>

* * *

><p><em>Fourteen year old Carlos made a mistake. As he limped into his house, it was obvious how big a mistake he had made.<em>

_Bruises covered his body as he made a beeline for the kitchen. He didn't expect his mom to be sitting on the couch in the living room. "Mijo! What happened?"_

_Carlos cursed as he turned toward his mom's direction. "Uh...I...well..." Carlos couldn't talk. How could he tell his mom that he got mugged? That the money he'd received from his abuelo had been stolen. By his brother?_

_"Carlos, don't try to lie to me!" She ran up to him and pulled him to the couch. "Lie down, Carlitos."_

_"No Mom," Carlos protested. "I'll be fine, just-" He was interrupted by his mother's fierce look on her face._

_She practically pushed him onto the couch and made him lay down. "What happened. I'm not gonna ask again."_

_Carlos could tell his mom wasn't going to let this go. "I...I was mugged. They took everything."_

_Sylvia gasped. "Well are you okay? How bad did they hurt you?"_

_"I'll be fine, Mom." Carlos' eyes grew watery. "I still lost Abuelo's gift, though."_

_Sylvia pulled Carlos into a hug and kissed his forehead. "I don't care. You'll always get gifts from you're abuelo. Your safety comes first." There was silence before she added. "Do you know who did this?"_

_Carlos saw that question coming. He couldn't lie to his mom, but his brain wouldn't let him tell the truth. "I-I didn't see their faces. There were two of them. Everything happened so fast, you know?"_

_Sylvia may be small, but she was a fighter. "They better be happy. They're lucky. I would kill them myself." She flashed a smile and Carlos chuckled. "But your father will hear about this, okay?"_

_Carlos nodded. "Thanks Mom." Yeah Omar was really lucky._

_Why Omar and his friend decided to beat up a fourteen year old, his brother, was beyond Carlos. All for money. Carlos knew money could make people do some crazy things. Omar was proof of that._

_Carlos only told Rafael about that incident. He didn't want his parents involved this time. Him and Rafael argued about that, but eventually, Carlos won._

* * *

><p>Carlos story of Omar's abuse started from the beginning. "I'm real sorry I Omar's abuse a secret for so long, guys." There was an awkward silence in the room when Carlos had finished speaking. James and Kendall gave Carlos looks of horror as they tried to process everything Carlos had just told them. Logan and Rafael were a bit relieved that Carlos was able to get out the story fairly quickly.<p>

Kendall was mad, and the other boys could tell. What they couldn't tell was why he was mad. Was he mad that Carlos had kept it a secret for so long, or was he just mad at Omar?

James couldn't believe it. He knew Omar did drugs, but he never viewed him as anyone mean.

"How did we not see this?" Kendall asked to no one particular.

"Don't feel bad," Rafael comforted. "He fooled Mom and Dad too."

"Why didn't you tell us?" James asked, slightly offended that Carlos hadn't trusted any of them enough to tell them anything.

Carlos sighed. He heard the disappointment and hurt in James' voice. "I never could bring myself to you guys."

"Carlos," Kendall interrupted.

Carlos raised a hand a cut him off. "Let me finish. Please. I was hoping that all of this...wasn't real. What Omar did to me, I thought maybe it was me being too sensitive. I was hoping that Omar never hated me." Carlos saw Kendall about to interrupt, so he gave him a warning look. "But I grew up and learned that he did hate me. For some reason I didn't know. I thought it was my fault and that whatever I was doing to make him mad, I had to stop. Pretty stupid, huh?"

There was another silence in the room. Kendall, of course, was the first to break it. "Uh, can I speak now?" Carlos nodded. "First of all, you're not stupid. He's been abusing you as long as you can remember. Of course you're bound to think that it's normal or its something you did. But you shouldn't!"

"Carlos," Logan spoke up. "Finding you passed out on the living room floor was one of the scariest moments of my life. I knew that there was something going on between you and him, but I couldn't figure it out. I'm the smart one and I couldn't figure it out."

"Don't beat yourself up about it, Logan," James said. He looked over to Carlos. "And yeah I'm a little mad that you didn't tell us, but either way, were still here for you buddy. And I'm glad you let us know. That's really brave of you."

Carlos started blushing from all the comments his friends gave him.

The four boys looked over to Rafael. "So, what do we do now?" Kendall asked.

Rafael raised his hands in defense. "What? I already the pizza."

Logan rolled his eyes. "Not about our food!" He pointed to Carlos. "What do we do now about this whole situation?"

"Oh," Rafael sighed. "Well. That's all up to Carlos. He's done listening to me. Nothing I say makes him want to take action against Omar. Maybe he'll listen to you guys."

Everyone in the room looked to Carlos. He looked each and everyone of them in the eyes. "Ummmm. Let's not do anything yet, okay?"

Rafael and Kendall rolled their eyes. Rafael started to say something when he phone began ringing. He politely excused himself and took the phone call in his bedroom.

The four boys talked amongst themselves, trying to forget the Carlos' sad reveal about the life he was too ashamed to tell anyone about.

What they couldn't understand was how a person so happy, kind, and innocent would ever deserve to be treated the way he was. Kendall, James, and Logan had their thoughts interrupted with the sound of Carlos' voice.

Carlos stood up as he saw Rafael slowly exiting the bedroom, he head down. "Wh-what's up, Rafael?"

Rafael took a deep breath before answering. He couldn't form the words to say it. "Th-that was Dad. Abuelo. H-he's...he's dead."

* * *

><p><strong>I received a request for Carlos whump and protective BTR boys. <strong> I can officially say that I've given y'all both ;) <strong>Carlos whump was inevitable from day one and more is yet to come. But now, the boys are involved. Isn't it lovely? **

**You like this one?**


	7. Wrong Place, Wrong Time

**Thank you for all the love I got from all you readers. Y'all rock!**

**Crazy stuff be happenin'  
><strong>

**Enjoy!  
><strong>

* * *

><p>It had been three days since the death of Carlos' grandfather. The news hit everyone hard. Carlos could remember a time when his parents had been that sad before. It was over the death of Alejandra Helena Garcia. Carlos' little sister. Sylvia had a miscarriage, but it still hurt everyone. Now, the death of their grandfather hurt too much.<p>

He and Rafael were given one assignment: Tell Omar. That's it. All they had to say was, "Hey, Abuelo died. Funeral's tomorrow."

Too bad it wasn't that simple. Carlos was too afraid to even think about Omar. Rafael hated Omar with every fiber of his being.

"We need to tell him, Rafael," Carlos told him while they ate dinner. His hands started shaking at the thought but he tried not to make it show too much.

"I know, okay," Rafael responded, a little upset. "He's part of this family. I get it." He sighed. "We can do it tomorrow, okay?"

Carlos shook his head. "No. Tonight?"

Rafael dropped his fork. "Tonight? Are you kidding me? You cry at the sound of Omar's name because you're scared of him. I just can't forgive him for what he did to you. I need time to prepare myself."

"Please," Carlos begged with his pleading puppy dog eyes. "I wanna get this over with. We gotta tell him tonight."

Rafael shook his head. "He lives in a dangerous neighborhood. I refuse to take you there. Especially at night."

"I'll be okay, I promise. I play hockey, remember?" Carlos pleaded. "He needs to know."

Rafael rolled his eyes and sighed. "You're too forgiving, hermanito."

Carlos smiled. "I believe everyone deserves a second chance."

"I'm pretty sure Omar used up that second chance a long time ago." He saw how badly Carlos wanted this deed done, and Rafael just wanted his little brother to be happy. "But fine. If you wanna tell him, we can. After dinner. But we're making it a short visit, okay?"

Carlos nodded. "That's all I need, bro. Thanks Rafael."

Rafael had been true to his word. After dinner, he and Carlos got into his black sedan and drove to Omar's neighborhood. He'd only been there once before, but he remembered the directions perfectly. Omar's neighborhood only spelled trouble, and Rafael couldn't help but glance at Carlos every once in a while to make sure nothing happened to him.

Carlos' height and his face always made him look younger than he really was. While Omar and Rafael were tall and took after their father, Carlos looked like Sylvia. The facial features, the height. If it wasn't for the fact that Carlos had a big muscle build, he would have been picked on so much more.

"You ready for this?" Rafael asked as he and Carlos stood in front of Omar's door. Carlos nodded and gave his brother a nervous, yet reassuring smile. Rafael sighed. He knocked on the door.

A shocked, shirtless Omar opened the door. "Uhh, can help you guys?"

"Cut the formalities, Omar," Rafael responded harshly. "We have bad news."

Omar's expression changed. Carlos could have sworn that he saw a hint of worry coming for his oldest half brother. "What's wrong?"

Rafael sighed. "Abuelo. He's dead."

Omar had a shocked expression on his face. A sincere look of shock. "What?"

"He died at the hospital," Rafael continued to explain. "It was peaceful, Dad swears it."

A voice came from Omar's apartment. "Omarrrr! Are you coming?" a girl called out.

"Of course," Rafael whispered while rolling his eyes.

Omar turned his head into his apartment. "Yeah, hold up." He turned his attention back to his brothers. "Thanks for letting me know...I'll give Dad a call later, okay?" Omar turned to Carlos. "Hey shortie."

Carlos widened his eyes "Hey, Omar."

Rafael saw the look on his face and cut in. "We just had to tell you. The funeral's tomorrow."

"That's kinda quick," Omar responded. He scratched the back of his neck in confusion.

"Not really," Rafael confessed. "We found out three days ago. We just haven't gotten around to tell you."

"Oh," Omar said with a hurt expression on his face. He shrugged. "Well...thanks for letting me know anyway."

"No problem," Rafael responded. "Look, uh, Carlos and I will leave you to continue...what you're doing...Catch you around, bro."

"See ya guys," Omar called out as his brothers began walking away.

"Rafael," Carlos addressed his older brother while pulling on his shirt. "I think Omar was...actually sad about all of this."

Rafael nodded. "Lemme tell you something." He sighed and stared straight into his brother's eyes. "Omar loved Abuelo. He loves Papi. He loves all our tios and tias..." he trailed off.

"He just hates me and Mom," Carlos said. He looked down at the ground, not wanting Rafael to see how sad he was.

Rafael laid a reassuring hand on Carlos' shoulder. "I don't want that getting to you, okay?"

"How can I not let that get to me?" Carlos replied angrily. Rafael had to shush him, reminding Carlos that they were still in Omar's neighborhood and they weren't in the car yet. "Sorry. It's just, I can't wrap my head around any of this, you know?" Rafael nodded and Carlos looked up at him. "Omar still loves you, right?"

He hesitated in answering. "He...he never stopped loving me." Which was true. Omar always made it a goal to make sure that Rafael was protected from everything bad. Even when he was kicked out, Omar occasionally called Rafael, making sure that he was still alright. "Omar just didn't like how I always took your side in everything. He loves me and Dad, but he's just mad at us. There's a difference."

Carlos nodded in understanding. "I would give anything to have Omar accept me." Rafael wrapped his arm around his little brother's shoulders as they walked to the car. They were getting stares from various people they passed, but neither of them cared.

Until two figures ran into them.

Carlos almost lost his balance, but was quick in catching himself before he fell. "Oh, sorry about that," the stranger with blue eyes said.

"Nah, it's cool," Rafael replied. He turned over to Carlos. "You okay?" Carlos nodded.

"I haven't seen you two around here before," the other man said. "You new here?"

Rafael shook his head. "Uh. No. We're just came to see our brother."

The man snapped his fingers in disappointment. "Aw man. This neighborhood could use more people...Okay lemme rephrase that. More nice people. Anyway, my name's Johnny." He pointed to his friend. "This is Bryan."

"Nice to meet you two," Rafael replied, getting closer to Carlos. He couldn't help but noticed that these people were really nice. Too nice. "Well, we better get going."

"Oh, same here," Bryan replied. "We have a person we need to see too." The two men walked away and waved. Rafael and Carlos failed to notice the direction the two men headed.

Omar rolled his eyes as he heard knock on his door once again. He turned to the girl beside him. "Uh, look. Obviously, tonight ain't gonna work."

The girl rolled her eyes as she angrily grabbed her stuff. "Yeah. Neither will any other night. Good bye."

She walked out the door, past the two men. "Hey Omar!" Bryan called out. "You have a visitor." Bryan walked in, leading Johnny to the living room.

Omar's expression dropped seeing who was there. "H-hey Johnny."

"Cut the crap," Johnny spat. "You know why I'm here."

Omar ran his fingers through his hair. "Yeah I know. I owe you money."

Johnny nodded. "So the idiot can think!" He laughed, seeing as how neither Bryan nor Omar were amused.

Omar rolled his eyes. "Look. I'd appreciate if you cut the jokes. My brothers just left me with news that my grandfather died. Now's not a good time."

Johnny's facial expression didn't change. "Am I supposed to feel sorry for you? And-" An idea struck Johnny. "You've kept your personal life such a secret and you come out with news that you have brothers." He looked over to Bryan, then back at Omar. "Funny. We saw two hombres walking to their car." Johnny smiled. "They're yours, aren't they."

"I don't know what you talking about." Omar lied, but his face said everything.

Johnny shook his head. "You owe me money, and you have the audacity to lie to me too? You're really messing up here."

"Okay. Okay I'm sorry. Just...leave them out of this okay?" Omar pleaded, but he knew he wasn't getting through to Johnny.

Johnny and Bryan stood up to leave. "Pay me back in two days...or I'll get creative with how to pay your debt off." An evil smile crept on Johnny's face as he spoke. "You're brothers came to the wrong place at the wrong time." Johnny walked out. Bryan gave Omar an apologetic look as he followed Johnny out.

Omar plopped on the couch. He didn't see this ending well.

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><p><strong>Okay so all you Omar haters out there, how do you view him now? Probably the same seeing as how he technically may have just put his brothers' lives in danger. Oh well.<strong>

**Don't forget to review. You know I love 'em!  
><strong>


	8. Scientific Method

**Bad news: I can't sleep. **

**Good news: I was able to update :D**

**I don't own BTR...or Home Depot.  
><strong>

**Enjoy!  
><strong>

* * *

><p>Omar woke up feeling the weight of the world on his chest. He had one more day. One day before Johnny decided to take action.<p>

He figured this whole predicament could turn out one of two ways: Over drinks, Johnny could say, "Ha ha! Just kidding! You can pay me back later!" The other way, and the Garcias would be facing yet another death in the family. Omar had a feeling that the first scenario was very unlikely.

He jumped when his cell phone began to ring on his bedside table. With shaking hands he reached across to answer it. He had mixed feelings when he discovered that Bryan was the one calling. Bryan, his best friend. Bryan, his best friend, who's currently being used by Johnny. Johnny, who wanted money so bad he was willing to hurt Omar's brothers. He sighed as he answered the call. "H-hey Bryan."

_"What's up, Omar?"_ Bryan responded casually. That set Omar off.

"What's up?" Omar shot up from his bed. "Johnny comes last night threatening my family and you ask me what's up?"

Bryan was taken aback by Omar's outburst. _"Look, I'm sorry bro. We can fix this."_

"How can we fix this? We can't fix anything this time! I bet Johnny has already made you start "researching" them, right?" The silence given to Omar was enough for him to figure out the answer. "No...How much do you have?"

Bryan sighed. He wanted to lie and say he didn't have anything, but Omar was smarter than that. _"Uh...I have...enough..."_ he trailed off.

"How much?" Omar demanded. His voice full of seriousness.

Bryan swallowed the lump in his throat. _"I know Rafael has an apartment on the west side."_ Omar winced at the sound of Rafael's name. He didn't even know where Rafael lived. _"Uh, your other brother, Carlos, he still lives with your parents, so it wasn't hard finding out about him..."_

Omar's head began spinning. He cut off his friend, not wanting to hear more. "And you plan to give this all to Johnny?" More silence. That gave Omar another answer. "You've already given it to him." _Dad's gonna kill me_, Omar thought.

"You're pissed," Bryan said, stating the obvious. Omar rolled his eyes, not really knowing how to respond to that statement. He hung up without saying a word. Omar plopped himself back on his bed. He debated what action was left to take.

"I should call Dad," he sighed out, remembering that last night he promised to call. He dialed the long distance number and waited for his father's response. "Hey Dad," Omar said after he was greeted by his father. "I-I heard about Abuelo." Omar felt tears forming in his eyes. He wasn't given the chance to mourn his grandfather last night.

_"I know, mijo."_ Manuel responded to his oldest son. He sounded happy, but you could still hear traces of sadness in is voice. _"I'm glad you called. How are you feeling?"_

Omar raised his eyebrows. Leave it to his father to ask how other people were doing when he himself was suffering. It's a wonder why he failed sensitivity training so many times. "I-I'm fine, Papi. I was about to ask you the same thing."

_"Don't worry about me, Omar."_ Manuel replied. _"I said my goodbyes to him."_ There was silence for a while. _"He asked about you."_

That released the water works. Omar let his tears freely fall from his eyes. "I'm sorry I couldn't be there."

_"I know,"_ his father said understandingly.

"What'd you tell him?"

_"Everything,"_ Manuel said bluntly. _"He really wants you to get back on your feet."_

Omar scoffed. "Who doesn't?" He scratched the back of his neck nervously. "I don't know why I'm like this, Dad."

_"Papa said a lot of things before he died. You know what he made **me** promise him?"_

"What?" Omar asked curiously.

_"He made me promise that you'd turn around."_ Omar had nothing to say. he couldn't think of anything. He couldn't think of a reason why they cared so much. _"I have good news for you, Omar,"_ Manuel said, interrupting his thoughts.

* * *

><p>Later that day, Rafael and Carlos spent some of their evening at a home improvement store, finding a way to cover up the hole that mysteriously formed on Rafael's living room wall. According to Carlos, while Rafael was at work, Carlos ordered Chinese food. In a fit of rage, the delivery man threw his tip jar at Carlos, but he ducked.<p>

That story, of course, lead Rafael to ask one question. Where was the Chinese food?

The delivery man took it, apparently.

Rafael didn't believe a word Carlos said, but he allowed the shorter boy to tell his story. He needed a good laugh. As much as being mad at Carlos seemed like a good idea, Rafael took one look in his little brother's puppy dog eyes and couldn't be mad at him for long.

"I need paint and plaster," Rafael announced to Carlos as they entered Home Depot.

"Why don't your apartment maintenance people fix up the hole?" Carlos asked.

Rafael rolled his eyes. "They seem to remember too well about the flooding washing machine incident from last year...and the fire the year before that...and-"

"Okay! I get it." Carlos interrupted. He crossed his arms and mumbled to himself. The fire was totally James' fault.

Rafael grabbed blue paint off the shelf. "Found the paint." He held up the small container and forced Carlos to carry it. They forgot to pick up a cart from up front.

As the two of them walked, Carlos scanned the crowd. He spotted a middle aged man looked at door knobs. A woman and her screaming kid looking at chandeliers. And Johnny looking at yard materials. "Hey look, Rafael. It's Johnny," he pointed to the man.

"Put your finger down," Rafael commanded, pushing Carlos right arm down. "Let's keep going."

"You don't wanna say hi?" Carlos asked.

Rafael scoffed. "I don't know him like that," he replied with almost a ghetto tune to his words. He and Carlos made their way to the "plaster" isle. He picked up a small bag of plaster and handed it to Carlos. Rafael turned around and almost ran into a figure. "Whoa! Sorry about th- Johnny?" he inquired after realization hit him.

Johnny's facial expression became one of shock. "Hey uh," he pretended to try in remembering his name. "Rafael, right?"

"Yeah," Rafael quickly responded.

"I remember that name. Ninja Turtles." Johnny laughed.

Rafael nodded. "I get that a lot."

Johnny turned to Carlos. "And you're Carlos, right?" Carlos smiled and nodded. Johnny's phone began ringing. He reached into his pocket and smiled at who was calling. "Sorry I gotta take this. Nice seeing you two again."

Rafael and Carlos waved good bye and left. Rafael's suspicions were still at bay, so the quicker they left, the better.

"What do you want, Omar?" Johnny spat into his phone.

_"I have an offer,"_ Omar calmly responded. _"I came across some money."_

Johnny's eyebrows perked up at the news. "Oh? May I ask how?"

_"No,"_ Omar replied. He didn't want to tell Johnny about his grandfather's will. His grandfather had made a lot of money in his day, and he left some for everybody. Surprisingly, Omar found out through his dad that Omar was given an equivalent of $7,500. _"Here's the thing: it's gonna have to come later than two days. Give me til the end of the week, okay?"_

Johnny was silent for a while. "Okay. Tell you what. You have til the end of the week. I like you, Omar, that's why I give you chances. Saturday. No later."

_"You have my word, just leave my family out of this, okay?"_

Johnny laughed. "It's funny that you called right after I ran into them at Home Depot. That younger one seems a little too friendly. He should be more careful."

_"You didn't do anything, right?"_

"Of course not. Your deadline wasn't up yet."

Omar breathed a sigh of relief. _"Thanks for cutting some slack, Johnny."_

"Anytime," Johnny smiled as he hung up the phone call. He chuckled. He always thought Omar was funny, but not naive. Johnny will wait for the money, but not without consequences. He watched as the two Garcia brothers checked out their materials, recalling everything Bryan had said about them.

Rafael, 25. Has a college degree. Works at Dell so he's pretty well off. Johnny was really good at reading people and picking up vibes. Talking to Rafael, he got a major one: Rafael was a fighter.

It's true, Rafael had a number of fights in his day, and he has the scars on his knuckles to prove it. But Johnny didn't see those. Johnny saw the fire coming out of Rafael's eyes. The need to always shield his little brother from even the smallest thing. The determination.

Johnny began thinking about Carlos. High school student. Hockey player, so he must be a tough guy. But Johnny knew that under that muscle, there was a heart too big for his chest. There must be a reason why Rafael guarded Carlos like he did. Was Carlos that force moving everybody's heart?

Science was one of Johnny's favorite subjects in school growing up. He looked forward to experiments and knew that the scientific method was very important. The first step: ask a question. His question was, "what would happen to "The Brothers Garcia" if the heart and joy of the family was taken away from them?"

Step 2: hypothesis. Johnny's hypothesis was, "If something were to happen to Carlos, then the Garcia family would crumble, and Omar would learn the importance of paying back what you owe."

Johnny smiled as he thought of the next step. Experimentation.

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><p><strong>Dun. Dun. Duuuuuuuun! This is the one time that the scientific method has been used for evil!<strong>

**Okay, so the scene with Omar was another "awwwwwww the $!%%# has a heart" according to Jayfeathers Stick ;D I wanted to do that scene in Spanish...like really bad. But I got lazy, and I'm afraid of mistakes. :P I thought that scene woulda been way more touching if it were in Spanish. Just sayin'.**

**What'd you think?  
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	9. Debt Payment

**Okay. So this chapter's a bit shorter than the other ones. Sorry. I edited this chapter after whipping my hair...so any errors...I'm sorry**

**Enjoy!  
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><p>Omar sighed as he knocked on Johnnys door. Johnny opened and smiled, seeing the bag in Omar's hand. "You met the Saturday deadline. Good boy." He reached a hand to ruffle Omar's hair.<p>

"Thanks for the extension, Johnny." He handed Johnny the bag.

Johnny gratefully took it. "You wanna stay for a drink?"

Omar shook his head. "Dad came back today...apparently him and I have things to talk about. I'm gong to him now."

Johnny smiled. "So Officer Garcia is back!" He laughed. "He's a bulldog of a cop. Knows how to keep us on our toes...what's on the Garcia agenda?"

Omar smiled and rolled his eyes. "Not sure. I know my two brothers are gonna be there. I'm kicking them out as soon as I get there. I don't want them getting nosy. See ya later, Johnny." He waved goodbye, got in his car and drove off.

He wasn't lying about his father coming back. He wasn't lying about having a little talk with him either. Manuel was back, and he definitely had some things to say to Omar.

Omar sighed, already having a feeling of what this talk with his father and Sylvia would be like.

Johnny watched as Omar drove away. He counted the money. Twice just to make sure it was all there. He shook his head, almost feeling guilty for threatening Carlos. Almost. The feeling of necessity outweighed the feeling of guilty. The necessity to help Omar understand that mistakes come with prices. Unfortunately, Carlos had to be the demonstration.

Johnny hustled around in his apartment. When an idea came to him. He needed to go for a ride.

* * *

><p>"Rafael, can I ask you something?" Carlos asked as he and Rafael played video games. They had made sure that the volume was high enough to drown out any talking they might hear from their parents or Omar.<p>

Rafael paused the game. "Sure baby bro. What's up?"

Carlos smiled. "So now I'm baby bro?" He laughed, then returned to the subject on his mind. "What was Omar like...you know. Before I came around?"

"Well we were still kinda young so..." Rafael shrugged.

"What was he like?" Carlos asked again. His eyes pleading for Rafael to answer.

Rafael sighed. "H-he was alright." He smiled as he remembered how Omar was when they were younger. "He was really nice. Never fought either unless he thought someone was threatening me."

"So...did he ever say why he hates me?" Carlos needed to know. He needed to know why Omar was...Omar.

Rafael shook his head. "But I think I know why." Carlos' eyes widened, anxious to hear Rafael's story. "Mom's car accident...he...he thinks its his fault."

_Nine year old Omar shifted around in his bed, not able to go to sleep. His mom walked in. "Omar. It's past your bedtime. Duerme ahora."_

_"But I can't sleep Mama!" Omar responded. He really couldn't. He was still kind of sick so he was very uncomfortable._

_Juana walked over to Omar's bed. She felt his forehead. "Well...you are still pretty warm." His mother's thick Puerto Rican accent was soothing to him as she held him. "Omar, I need to pick up some medicine for you but I don't want to leave you and your brother alone at night."_

_"We'll be okay, Mama," Omar responded. "Rafael's asleep and I'll be in here. Promise."_

_She smiled and nodded. "Okay sweetie. I'll be right back, okay?" She kissed Omar's forehead and walked out the door._

_Omar didn't know how much time had passed, but eventually, he fell asleep, still with no sign of his mother._

_Until the next morning, when his father broke the news._

_"I'm sorry, Papi," Omar said in between sobs. "It's all my fault!" Omar told his dad of what happened the night before. "If I had just went to bed she'd be okay."_

_Manuel pulled his son into a hug. "No Omar. It's not your fault and no one's blaming you." Manuel started crying. "It's the drunk driver's fault."_

Carlos mouth hung open. "H-how come no one told me that?" he asked, still in shock from the story. All he ever knew was that Juana was in a really bad accident.

Rafael shrugged. "Guess cuz it was a sensitive subject."

Carlos sighed. "That's why he's this way, Rafael. That's why we needa continue forgiving him!"

Rafael shook his head. "That doesn't excuse his behavior." He stopped Carlos' attempt to speak. "I turned out fine. Dad's not some ax murderer. It's just Omar that messed up. If Mom was still alive, he'd probably still be the same he is now."

"You're right. But if I hadn't been born, he wouldn't be this way..." Carlos said, looking down.

Rafael jumped, scrunching his eyes together. "Hey Carlos. No one's saying that!"

"You don't have to!" Carlos cried out. "The way he looks at me. The way he talks to me...Th-the way he beats me..." Carlos took in a shuddering breath.

"Carlos, calm down," Rafael cautioned.

Carlos took in another deep breath. "S-sorry 'bout that," he finally said.

Rafael rubbed Carlos' back. "It's okay. D-did you have a flashback?" Carlos was still for a while, then he finally nodded. "Wanna talk about it?" Rafael asked.

Carlos shook his head and stood up. "I...I needa take a walk." He grabbed his phone and keys off the table. Rafael sighed and nodded. He knew better than to tell his baby brother no.

It was evening time, so Carlos knew his walk couldn't be for long.

He had to admit that walking helped. Already his mind was clearing up, trying to forget the bad times he had with Omar. The bad thing was, no matter how many times he would dig into his mind for any good memories of Omar, he came up empty. There had to have been one good moment with Omar.

He approached the empty lot. Nothing really there. Trees, grass, and cement. But it was nice place to be for Carlos. It was always empty, empty like how he wished his mind would be right now. He found a tree and sat under it, sighing as he plopped on the ground.

Carlos began feeling serene. He didn't know why he had walked out on Rafael like that. Rafael was the person he knew he could trust. He played with the grass while the jumbled thoughts in his head began organizing themselves.

He sighed and stood up, ready to slowly head back home.

"Carlos," he heard someone say. He gasped and turned around. The familiar voice played in his head as he saw the masked man that sneaked up behind him. Carlos got ready to run, but the masked man lunged at him.

Life went downhill from there.

* * *

><p><strong>Okay, there was the mighty cliffhanger. So just to get this straight, Mr. and Mrs. Garcia are back. I can't wait to start writing the next chapter...Oh wait! It's already written up! XD Editing takes me a long time. (I do some intense editing when I have time) So until the next chapter's completely edited, I won't update.<strong>

**But until then, I'm anxious to read your reviews!**


	10. Experiment

**After the AWESOME reviews you guys left for the last chapter, I couldn't resist updating now. So I wanna say thank you so much. I love the feedback this story is getting.  
><strong>

**Two songs to NOT listen to while writing something like this: Sorry for Partyrocking and Ni**as in Paris. You're just gonna have to trust me on this one.**

**Enjoy!  
><strong>

* * *

><p>Carlos breathed heavily as he ran from the stranger advancing towards him. He gasped as he trip over a small hole in the ground. The man picked up Carlos with the collar of his shirt. It was only then that Carlos realized what was in the man's hand. An aluminum bat. <em>This would be a good time to remember all the self defense Dad taught you,<em> Carlos thought to himself.

Once the man attempted his first swing with the bat, Carlos grabbed the bat with his left hand and punched the man in his gut. He smiled at himself seeing as how he remembered how to defend himself despite all the panic building up inside of him. The punch stunned the man, therefore loosening his grip on the bat. Carlos snatched the bat, attempting to run past the man, but unfortunately, the man recovered quicker than Carlos had anticipated.

Carlos was grabbed by the arm, forced to turn to the man. Pain erupted in his jaw as he the man used all his strength to punch him. "Oh no," Carlos breathed out as he watched the bat drop to the ground. He tried punching the man again, but that proved unsuccessful as the man blocked the hit.

He placed his fingers around Carlos neck and squeezed. The man laughed as Carlos' struggle to break free proved futile. Black circles danced in front of Carlos' eyes as he began to lose consciousness. Carlos attempted to call out to somebody. Anybody. But he couldn't talk. The only thing he was able to do was mouth out one name. He thought for sure that he was going to die, until he felt the man let go. Carlos fell to the ground as he tried to inhale the sweet oxygen his body had craved. "Rafael," he croaked out. The man grabbed the fallen bat, and Carlos' eyes widened.

"Let this be a lesson learned, kid," the man said as he hit Carlos' ribs with the bat. "No one. Ever. Fights. Me," he said between hits. The man continued beating the poor boy, smiling sadistically at every cry, plead, and grunt that came from him.

Carlos received hits on his back, chest, arms, and stomach.

As the hits continued, the sharp pain from the hits turned into a dull numbness. He fought to stay awake as breathing became harder. He continued crying, seeing as how there was no way to get out of this one. No one was here to save him. This man was too tough for anyone's good. Carlos just hoped that this man was merciful enough to keep him alive. He felt his arm snap as the bat smacked it."St-stop. Please?" he begged between breaths. He began coughing, a metallic flavored liquid came out of his mouth and hit the floor. Blood. He was coughing up blood.

The man bent down. "What do you want, kid?"

Carlos cried a little before saying, "I wanna...I wanna go home," he sobbed out.

The man got closer. "That's not what you wanna do." His hot breath hit Carlos face and he did everything in his power not to scrunch up his nose in disgust. "Your people at home, are the ones that put you in this mess." He smiled as realization hit Carlos.

"D-Dad?" Carlos asked, afraid of the answer. His body felt nothing but pain as he coughed more blood out of his mouth.

The man shook his head. He leaned into Carlos and whispered into his ear. "Tell 'em Johnny sent ya."

Carlos gasped. Before he knew it, the man rushed the bat to the side of his head.

* * *

><p><em>Carlos. Where are u? Mom wants u home for dinner! <em>

Rafael angrily hit the send button and shoved his phone in his pocket. He looked out the window and saw small raindrops falling from the sky.

"What'd you do that was so bad you pissed off the shortie? _The shortie?_" Omar repeated for emphasis.

"Talk about you," Rafael replied.

"Whatever," Omar said as he pulled put his phone to send a text

_Hey dude. Later tonite, we gotta talk_  
><em>-Omar<em>

_Why? What's going on?_  
><em>-Bryan<em>

_I gotta fix some things. We'll take later. I really need ur support._  
><em>-Omar<em>

_Yeah sure. Call me asap_  
><em>-Bryan<em>

Omar put his phone into his pocket and walked into the kitchen. The strong smell of food hit Omar like a ton of bricks. "You're staying for dinner," Manuel said. It was said more like a command than a suggestion or question. Omar nodded slowly.

Rafael walked in. "Still nothing from Carlos."

"Are you sure nothing's wrong?" Sylvia asked, worry building up in her.

Rafael pulled out his phone, about to send a text, when his phone rang. He got a text.

_Have u heard from Carlos?_  
><em>-Kendall<em>

_I was about 2 ask u the same thing_  
><em>-Rafael <em>

_He hasn't responded to any of our texts and calls_  
><em>-Kendall<em>

"Dad," Rafael said. "Kendall said Carlos hasn't answered any of their calls. You think something's up?" Rafael's protective instincts became active.

Manuel threw Rafael's car keys at him. "Let's go look for him. It's raining, he can't be out like this for that long."

Rafael nodded and looked to Sylvia. "You stay home in case he comes back. Call us if he does." He looked to Omar and mouthed out "stay here". Omar awkwardly nodded, feeling like he had no choice. "C'mon Dad," Rafael said as they walked out the door.

They got into the car and drove around the neighborhood. Rafael where he should start. The lot behind the park. Where the boys played football when it was too hot for hockey. Where Carlos learned how to ride a bike. Where Carlos ran when he was too afraid to go home to an angry Omar. He shook the thought out of his head as he approached the lot.

He and his father exited the car. Rafael's breath hitched as cold rain hit his face. It had started raining a little harder since they left the house.

"You think he'd still be here?" Manuel asked.

"There's a pool around here, remember? That means there's a shed. Maybe he's in there," Rafael said optimistically.

They began approaching the shed, but didn't have to go very far when they saw a heap on the ground.

"C-Carlos!" Rafael yelled out. He and his dad began running to him, almost slipping on the smooth, wet, cement.

His heart stopped at the sight of his little brother. Manuel and Rafael knelt down to see the full extent of Carlos' injuries.

He was laying on his back. His breathing was rough and labored, he had bruises on his arms, neck, and face and they couldn't imagine what his chest and stomach looked like right now. His right arm was bent at a weird angle at the elbow. Blood trickled from his mouth and a large pool of blood was forming from the hit to Carlos' head.

The crazy thing was, Carlos' eyes were open. Barely open, but open nonetheless.

"Don't touch him," Manuel warned Rafael who reached out to tap Carlos' face. "W-we don't know how bad he's hurt." Manuel pulled out his phone and called 911. Rafael took off his sweater and put it over Carlos' trembling, cold body. It was raining and unlike Carlos, Rafael could do without the protection from the rain right now.

It seemed as if Carlos had no idea that his father and brother were there. Rafael grabbed Carlos' hand, but still got no reaction. Instead, Carlos began coughing up more blood. "Dad!" Rafael called out. "Dad! Why is he coughing up blood?"

Manuel knew one thing about this situation. Coughing up blood is not good. At all. He put his hand on Rafael's shoulder. "The ambulance will be here in five minutes." He turned to Carlos. "You hear that, mijo? Five minutes. You'll be okay."

Carlos coughed again. He grit his teeth in pain. His eyes began closing, alarming his dad and brother.

"Stay awake, Carlos!" Rafael demanded. "You're gonna be okay!"

Carlos closed his eyes. The pain was too much. He welcomed the numbness of unconsciousness.

Manuel began crying. "Please Carlitos! I can't lose you like this. I just lost my father I can't lose you too!"

Rafael cried with his father. They both knew that their pleas were falling on deaf ears.

They'd been so focused on Carlos' seemingly dead body that they didn't hear the sirens or the EMTs approaching.

Carlos was put on a stretcher. When both Rafael and Manuel tried to ride along, an EMT held out his hand. "Sorry, only room for one."

Manuel put his hand on Rafael's shoulder once again. "I'll go. You go pick up your mom and brother and meet us there, okay?"

Rafael just nodded, too in shock to say or do anything else.

It's amazing that Rafael was able to make it home safe. He was speeding, crying, and talking to Sylvia as he drove to pick them up. But the whole time he was praying that Carlos be okay.

He wanted that more than anything.

* * *

><p><strong>Did you like it? This story's gonna get more dramatic as it goes on. Believe it. <strong>

**I'm now off to work on my other BTR story. :D**

**Drop a review, home slice. (please?)  
><strong>


	11. Te Necesito

**I couldn't keep y'all waiting for long :D**

**I don't own these boys!**

**Warning: The next chapters are gonna be SUPER EXTREMELY angsty! (Because the last chapters weren't angsty enough, right?)  
><strong>

**Enjoy!  
><strong>

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><p>Rafael, Sylvia, and Omar rushed into the hospital. They immediately saw a broken form of Manuel. "Dad!" Rafael called out to get his attention. "Dad. What happened? Have they said anything? How's Carlos?"<p>

Manuel slightly raised his hand to stop his son's bombardment of questions. More tears fell from his face as he recalled what happened on the ride to the hospital. "H-he..." More tears fell.

Sylvia rubbed Manuel's back. "Take your time," she said in a way she hoped was comforting to him.

He took a deep breath. "H-he had a...a seizure." Everyone gasped, already not wanting to hear more, but Manuel continued. "Th-they got him under control, though."

Sylvia sat down, afraid she would collapse at any moment. She began crying as well, imagining what her husband went through in the ambulance.

"When are they gonna tell us how Carlos is doing now?" Rafael asked. Manuel shrugged. He had no answer. The only thing he could tell them to do is wait.

"You have some blood on your hands, Papi," Rafael said as he put his hand on Manuel's shoulder. "C'mon. You should get that cleaned up."

They both headed to the restroom. Rafael couldn't stand seeing his father so broken up.

Once in the bathroom, Manuel washed his hands and splashed some water on his face. "Before his seizure...he spoke to me," he said while hunched over the sink.

Rafael perked his eyebrows at that statement. "What?"

Manuel began drying his face. "Carlos woke up and talked to me. I don't know if he realized it or not. He sounded so delirious. But he spoke to me."

"Well, what'd he say?" Rafael practically begged to know. "Maybe he said something that'll help us find out who did this!"

Manuel shook his head. "Carlos said, "Papi, te necesito." He needed me. And I couldn't do anything. He said he needed me like he knew he was about to have the seizure. And his eyes...the way he looked at me when he said it. He seemed so broken..." he trailed off.

Rafael sighed. "Dad, Carlos will be okay. He has to be."

"W-we should head back to the waiting room," Manuel said as if he didn't hear Rafael's last statement. "Sylvia's probably freaking out right now."

They waited a long time before anything happened. Sylvia called her friends, Brooke, Joanna, and Jennifer and told them of the situation.

For three hours, the Knights, Diamonds, and Mitchells were all in the waiting room with the Garcias when something finally happened.

A doctor approached them. Manuel quickly stood up. "How is he? How's my son?" His eyes were wide, anxious to hear the news.

The middle aged doctor sighed, which already alarmed everybody. "I'm Dr. Raymond. And your son was brought in with extensive injuries." He hated the face everyone had, but he had to continue. "Carlos has three cracked ribs, four broken ribs, two of them punctured his right lung. That, and the fact that he was choked is why he had trouble breathing earlier. His right arm is broken at the elbow. He was hit on the side of his head, cracking his skull. He also had internal bleeding, but we were able to stop it." He sighed again. "Honestly, your son is in bad shape." He hesitated before continuing. "He's in a coma, so we'll be monitoring him. The next 24 hours are important but... we don't think he'll make it. I'm sorry."

Manuel gasped as he slowly sat back down. Rafael's mouth hung open, not able to process what he was just told. Sylvia broke down crying, Jennifer, Brooke, and Joanna quick in lending her comfort. Logan, Kendall, and James stared at the wall, not being able to fathom the fact that their friend had been hurt this bad. Katie held on to Kendall, already missing Carlos.

"C-can we see him?" Manuel asked.

The doctor gave a sympathetic nod to the distraught father. "He's in room 260." Once the large crowd of people came in front of the room, the doctor stopped him. "Only two at a time."

Manuel took a deep breath as he grabbed Sylvia's hand. They entered Carlos' room, and Sylvia cried even more. "C-Carlos," she breathed out. She prayed that the broken person on the hospital bed wasn't her son. But she couldn't escape this reality. That was Carlos. Carlos Garcia. Her son. Her son laying pale and still on a hospital bed. The only sound that filled the room was the sound of the steady heart monitor and the respirator. She hesitated before touching his face. She was afraid to touch him, thinking she'd hurt him even more.

Manuel looked at the bruises covering Carlos' face, neck, and arms. The cast that covered his right arm. The gauze covering up the injury on his head.

"Will he be okay?" Sylvia asked, hoping her husband's answer would be a good one.

Manuel stared blankly at his son. He couldn't answer his wife. He deemed it physically impossible. Instead, he turned to his son. "The doctor said you may not make it...that the next 24 hours are critical. But you're a fighter Carlitos. You'll prove them wrong, right? We need you. Your mother's here crying. Y-you don't want her sad anymore, right?" He sighed and turned to his wife. "Let's go, honey. His brothers need to see him too." Sylvia laid a kiss on Carlos' head before allowing her husband to lead her out.

Rafael and Omar entered next. Omar was a source of comfort to Rafael, which was surprising to him. "I...I thought you didn't c-care about the shortie," Rafael said between sobs.

Omar shrugged. "I don't...but you need me, and I'm here for you."

Rafael twisted his face in confusion. "Um...oddly, that's very nice of you." He let out a humorless laugh. "You show care in the weirdest ways."

"Remember when I tried to make you feel better after you broke Sylvia's lamp? You were like, what? Ten?" Omar playfully punched Rafael's arm.

Rafael rolled his eyes. "How can I forget?" He smiled. "You told me everything was gonna be alright. But you punched me in the face and told Mom that I fell, hit the table and knocked down her lamp in the process."

"It helped didn't it?" Omar asked.

Rafael appreciated the distraction his older brother gave. "The good ol' days, huh?"

Omar scoffed. "If that's what you can call them." He rubbed Rafael's back. "The shortie will be okay." He took Rafael's hand. "I'm sure of it."

Rafael sighed. "For the first time in a long time, I hope you're right _hermano mayor_," he said mockingly. "I'll kill the man who did this, Dad being a cop or not."

Omar smiled. "I'll hide the body."

Rafael chuckled. "You do care." He stroked Carlos' face. "You're gonna be alright, hermanito, okay?" Rafael sighed. "Please be okay." He grabbed Carlos hand and squeezed it.

Suddenly, the heart monitor began beeping erratically. Rafael pressed the call button, freaking out. When the doctor walked in, the heart monitor flat lined.

Dr. Raymond began giving Carlos chest compressions, hoping he'd keep the little boy's heart going. "This patient's going into cardiac arrest. Get the paddles," he ordered the hospital staff that had rushed into the room. "And take these two away," he indicated Omar and Rafael. "They don't need to see this." They were gently led out the door by a nurse. Their limbs felt like jello.

"What's going on in there?" Sylvia asked when the two boys were out of the room.

"H-his heart stopped," Rafael choked out. He stared into the room, watching as doctors attempted to restart Carlos' heart.

"Clear!"

Carlos body jerked from the electricity running through his body.

"Clear!"

Rafael felt his chest constricting. He couldn't breathe. He was getting dizzy.

"Clear! C'mon kid you gotta hang on."

Carlos body jerked once again, but the result was still the same. The sound of the heart monitor taunted everyone with its loud monotonous beep.

"Time of death," Dr. Raymond checked his watch. "12:02AM."

_Carlos is dead. Carlos is dead._ No matter how many times that sentence played on their heads, they still couldn't believe it.

Omar caught Rafael as he slid to the ground. James, Kendall, and Logan just stared at each other. James was the first one to shed a tear. Sylvia at this point had completely lost it. She began crying and yelling things nobody could comprehend.

_Carlos is dead. Carlos is dead. Carlos is dead._

"I'm sorry," he said to everyone. "He's gone."

"C-can we at least say good bye?" Logan asked, sounding like a three year old child.

The doctor allowed everyone into Carlos' room.

_Carlos is dead. Carlos is dead. _

No. They still couldn't believe it.

* * *

><p><strong>You see what I mean by extreme angst?<strong>

**Let me know what you thought!**


	12. Breakdown

**After giving everybody cases of high blood pressure and heart attacks, here's a good angsty chapter to say I'm sorry.  
><strong>

**Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Manuel grabbed Carlos' limp hand. "H-he's...he's g-gone," he said, being the first to acknowledge the truth.<p>

"M-maybe the paddles didn't work right," Sylvia said optimistically. "Maybe if they do it again..."

Manuel held his wife close. "There's nothing anyone can do...At least...at least he's not in pain anymore."

Sylvia fought her way out of her husband's grasp. "How can you be okay that your son's...d-dead?" she cried out as she continued sobbing. "He's your son and your acting like everything's okay." She stormed out the room, not being able to stay in the same room as her DEAD son.

Jennifer followed her. She saw Sylvia sitting in the waiting room crying her heart out. She sat next to Sylvia and rubbed her back. "Sylvia, he's not okay with any of this," she said in a soothing voice. "Manuel's taking it just as hard as you are. We all are. But Manuel's just trying to be strong for us. You know that, right?"

Sylvia nodded, trying to find words. "I-I don't know why I reacted like that. I'm not mad at him, I swear. I just couldn't be in there. Carlos is dead. My baby's dead." She cried on Jennifer's shoulder.

Jennifer and Sylvia sat in a comfortable silence as Brooke and Joanna approached them.

Rafael put his hand on Manuel's shoulder. "Don't worry, Papi. She's not mad. Just give her some time."

Katie hugged her older brother, hiding the tears falling from her face.

Logan cried on James' shoulder. "He's really gone," he whispered.

James held Logan tight. Kendall watched the exchange between the two. "Mr. Garcia's right...he's not in pain anymore."

James nodded, still speechless, but he found truth in those words. "I miss him already." The three boys wouldn't be able to go without Carlos' unlimited energy. His infectious laughter. His beautiful smile and puppy dog eyes. "C-Carlos," James sobbed.

Omar watched Rafael, who was trying to make himself stop crying. He wondered how Rafael would be able to cope through all this. Omar thought it was always kind of sad, but Carlos was really Rafael's best friend. Sure, Rafael has always been a social guy, he made friends and kept them. But Carlos was always the most important thing in Rafael's life. And now he was gone. He pulled Rafael in a hug. "Buddy, we're gonna get through this, okay?"

Rafael continued sobbing. Manuel left to go look for his wife. Rafael held his brother tight, not wanting the only brother he had left to suddenly vanish too. "I...I need him." Omar rubbed circles on his little brother's back.

The room became silent. The only sounds heard were from everyone crying hysterically.

Carlos couldn't die. Not this way.

"O-Omar," Rafael sobbed. Omar was his only source of comfort. "Omar." Rafael felt his legs collapse beneath him.

"Rafael!" Omar cried out in surprise. He caught his brother before he completely fell to the ground.

"I-I don't feel too good," Rafael said in a low voice. His eyes were half lidded and Omar could hear that Rafael was breathing funny.

Omar knew it was happening again.

Rafael lost his girlfriend in a car accident six years ago. He was there in the hospital when she died. Rafael's reaction scared everybody. Rafael cried, of course. But soon, he became dizzy and started wheezing. Thankfully, Omar was there to catch him when Rafael fainted.

"Rafael," Omar said, trying to get his brother's attention. "Listen. You gotta calm down, okay?" He gently shook Rafael.

"I-is he okay?" Katie asked.

"He doesn't do too well in hospitals," Omar answered. He turned his attention back to Rafael. "Rafael. Please calm down." Omar didn't want Rafael to end up in his own hospital bed again.

Rafael sucked in a deep breath.

"Doing better, Rafael?" Omar asked, seeing that Rafael's breathing had evened out a bit.

"Yeah," Rafael breathed out. "S-sorry for doing that again."

"You scared us a little," Logan said. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Rafael nodded and got off the ground. "I don't know why that always happens.

Suddenly, there was a beep. Then another beep. Eventually, a steady rhythm of beeps filled the room.

"C-Carlos?" Rafael asked after realizing that the beeping was coming from the heart monitor.

"H-he's back!" Kendall yelled. The events of the day still leaving him in shock.

Logan pushed the button to call the doctor. Rafael pulled Omar as he rushed closer to Carlos.

Kendall ran out of the room to go find their parents. "Mom!" he yelled once he made it to the waiting room.

Jennifer, seeing the alarmed look on Kendall's face, panicked. "Kendall. What's wrong?"

Kendall shook his head. He tried to find the words to say. "C-Carlos...alive!"

Everyone gasped. "What are you talking about?" Manuel asked.

"His heart. It's beating!" Kendall yelled, glad that he was able to form an actual sentence. "C'mon!" He said as he pulled Manuel to Carlos' room. Everyone followed Kendall and Manuel.

When they arrived at Carlos' room, they saw Dr. Raymond marveling over Carlos' unconscious body. Once the parents arrived, they knew Kendall was right. Carlos is alive.

"You're son is amazing," Dr. Raymond acknowledged. "He's alive."

Sylvia's knees gave out in relief. "D-does that mean he'll be okay?" she asked as she held on to her husband to prevent herself from totally collapsing to the floor.

"We still need to monitor him," Dr. Raymond. "He's not out of the woods yet."

Manuel nodded. The fact that his son was still alive was good news to him. The only thing left was for Carlos to continue his fight for survival. He grabbed Carlos' hand. "You never cease to amaze me, mijo. Just keep fighting, okay? You can do this."

Rafael listened to the heart monitor. He usually found the sound incredibly annoying, but today, it was the best sound he'd ever heard.

* * *

><p>Everyone went three days before anything happened. Carlos was taken off the respirator because the lung pierced by his broken ribs had healed. But he still hadn't woken up. At least he was taken out of the ICU.<p>

Sylvia held her son's hand, having a tight grip on him.

The door opened, revealing Dr. Raymond. " How's our patient doing?" he asked as he walked closer to Carlos.

"When is he supposed to wake up? Manuel asked.

Dr. Raymond didn't know. "I'm not sure," he responded. "But the fact that he's now off the respirator is a very good sign. It's promising. At this point, Carlos has nowhere else to go but up." He smiled at the Garcias.

Manuel's phone started ringing. Rafael's name flashed on the screen. "Sorry, I gotta take this," Manuel said.

"It's okay," Dr. Raymond said. "I should be going anyway." He walked out as Manuel answered his phone.

"Thanks for calling, mijo," Manuel said to Rafael.

_"No problem Dad,"_ Rafael responded. _"I saw you called earlier. Is everything okay?"_ Rafael's voice rose. He was panicking, thinking something bad happened to his little brother.

"Everything's great," Manuel responded. "We have good news."

_"What is it?"_ Rafael anxiously asked.

"Carlitos is off the respirator and out of the ICU!"

Rafael was glad that this conversation was over the phone. He didn't want his dad to see the fact that he had tripped while walking to his car. _"What? That's amazing! Did he...did he wake up?"_ Rafael crossed his fingers.

"No mijo," Manuel said, sadly. "But, the doctor said Carlos is recovering quickly, so he should wake up soon!" he responded, hoping to lift Rafael's spirit.

Rafael sighed. He needed Carlos awake. But he knew what Manuel was saying. He should be grateful to the fact that Carlos is making progress. No matter how slow. _"Okay, Dad. Thanks for the update."_

"Omar told me what happened three days ago," Manuel pointed out. "You've been taking care of yourself, right?" Manuel asked. He was concerned with Rafael, seeing how he's been these past few days.

_"Yeah Dad,"_ Rafael responded. _"I ate breakfast this morning and I'm about to go out and eat lunch." _

"That's a good boy," Manuel said.

Rafael scratched the back of his neck. _"It wasn't as bad as last time. I didn't pass out, which would be a good sign, right?"_ He sighed. _"I was just really scared, Papi."_

"I know," Manuel responded. "Carlos needs you to be strong. Will we see you tonight?"

_"Of course, Dad,"_ Rafael said. _"Oh, but I gotta pick up Logan, Kendall, and James after work. They wanna see Carlos."_

"Even better," Manuel responded. He viewed Carlos' best friends as sons also. Especially Kendall, who had clung to the Garcias after the death of his father. "I'll see you tonight." He ended the call with Rafael.

"You better wake up soon, mijo," Manuel said quietly. "Your friends wanna see you."

* * *

><p><strong>So...you guys don't hate me anymore right? (Ahem TotallyLosingIt who continues to slug me) LOL<strong>

**OMG Rafael coulda died**

**Review!  
><strong>


	13. Agarate Fuerte

**Who's ready for more Rafael?**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Rafael watched from outside the hospital room as Carlos' three best friends talked. They were having conversation as if Carlos was actually hearing them, responding to all their crazy comments and stories.<p>

"Remember how we came up with the "New Friend" code?" Logan asked.

James and Kendall laughed. "Yeah," James responded. "You were the new kid. You knew us for barely a week and you already had things to blackmail us with."

Logan proudly nodded. Kendall stared at Logan. "Come to think of it," Kendall said. "A lot of the codes and regulations we have are because of you."

"Like the Logan Amendment," James chimed in. He shuddered as he remembered the prank he and Carlos pulled on Logan. "I didn't know you'd be sent to the hospital with a concussion."

Logan shrugged. "My mom wouldn't let me hang out with you guys for such a long time!"

Kendall sighed. "Carlos always found a way to sneak in some hang time from you."

"He was willing to give up his helmet and let you have it," James said.

"Carlos totally deserves more than a helmet when he wakes up," Kendall said.

"Full-body armor is more like it." Logan chuckled.

The door opened, and Rafael and Omar walked in. Logan, James, and Kendall looked at Omar with disgust. They didn't know who hurt Carlos and sent him to the hospital, but they did know Omar had hurt Carlos on multiple occasions.

"Sorry to cut in like this," Rafael began. "But Omar and I are sending Mom and Dad to go home and get some rest. They're gonna take you home, okay?"

The three boys sighed as they nodded.

"We'll be back soon, Carlos," James told his unconscious Latino friend.

"Next time we come," Kendall said. "You better be awake."

"Love ya buddy," Logan said quickly, a little embarrassed that he just told his guy friend that he loved him.

The three boys walked out, saying good night to Rafael and Omar.

Rafael and Omar moved a makeshift couch closer to Carlos' bed. "Why didn't they have rooms with couches in the ICU?" Omar asked. Rafael shrugged and the two guys plopped on the couch. "Get some sleep, little bro," Omar said. It was more of a command than a suggestion.

As if on cue, Rafael yawned. "I'm fine," he lied. If you call not being able to sleep for three days "fine", then Rafael was perfectly okay. He stared at Carlos, hoping now would be the time he opened his eyes.

Omar noticed this. "Go to sleep," he said. "I'll wake you up if Carlos wakes up."

Rafael sighed and finally gave into his brother's demands. "Okay." Omar wrapped his arm around Rafael's shoulders, which Rafael found oddly soothing once again. Rafael snuggled further into the couch and his brother's grip. "Omar," Rafael said as he felt himself falling asleep. "I know you don't like Carlitos...and I understand why. It's pretty obvious to me...but thanks for always being here. You've made it easier."

Omar was shocked at his little brother's confession. "Uh...no problem Rafael. Consider it as me paying you back for when you helped me with..." He looked to his brother to see that Rafael had already fallen asleep. He scoffed, seeing as how his rant would have fallen on deaf ears. "Buenas noches, hermano."

* * *

><p>It was five thirty in the morning when Carlos finally woke up. He looked to his right and saw Rafael and Omar snuggled on the couch asleep.<em> Where's Mami and Papi?<em>

Carlos was in so much pain. It made him dizzy and black spots danced in front of his eyes. He wanted nothing more than to pass out, but he couldn't just yet.

" 'fael," Carlos attempted to call out. His throat was so scratchy. He could barely talk. His words came out as croaks and rough whispers. He teared up as he attempted to call out to his brother again. "Rafael." He couldn't handle the abuse being put on his throat.

Rafael and Omar jerked awake. "Oh, Carlos," Rafael breathed out. He got closer to his little brother. He was desperate to pull his little brother into a hug. "D-don't ever scare us like that again, okay bro?"

Omar approached the two. "Hey shortie."

Carlos' response was barely audible. "Here," Rafael handed him a cup of water. He ran his finger through Carlos' hair. "Mom and Dad are at home. They're really tired and I sent them home. They should be back soon though...We thought we lost you, little guy... You remember what happened?"

Carlos shook his head, alarming his brothers, until he began speaking. "I don't wanna talk about it." He winced when a shot of pain hit his ribs. "Everything hurts," Carlos whispered. His voice was laced with pain, worrying Rafael.

Rafael felt anger, sadness, and guilt build up inside of him. Anger toward whoever put Carlos in his current condition. Sadness for seeing his usually energetic and happy brother, now weak, tired and in pain, not to mention emotionally scarred. Guilt because Carlos' had been left all by himself after his attack before Rafael and Manuel found him. He pressed the call button. Dr. Raymond walked in. "He's awake and in a lotta pain," he said quickly.

Dr. Raymond's nurse came in with a needle. "This'll make him sleepy," she warned as she stuck the needle through Carlos' IV.

"Thanks," Rafael breathed out, seeing that his brother was relaxing. Carlos let out an involuntary yawn. "Sleep, Carlitos. I'll be here when you wake up, okay buddy?"

A ghost of a smile appeared out Carlos' face as he squirmed in the bed a bit and closed his eyes.

Sylvia and Manuel walked in five minutes later, upset that they missed Carlos' awakening, but happy that he had at least woken up. Eventually, everyone had fallen asleep, refusing to leave Carlos' side.

Unfortunately, Carlos' peaceful sleep didn't last long. In his mind, he was still with that monster. He was reliving bits and pieces of that horrible moment. The beating. The taunts. He screamed, waking up everyone in the room.

"Mijo! Mijo! It's okay!" his father tried to reassure him. "You're here. Safe with us." He tried putting his hand on Carlos' shoulder, but the small boy flinched.

"Don't hurt me please!" Carlos begged. He was crying and having a full blown panic attack. The heart monitor's speed increased as Carlos struggled to breathe.

Rafael made his way closer to Carlos. "Hermanito. C'mon. It's us." He sat on the bed, forcing Carlos into his grasp. The small boy continued to put up a weak fight, but Rafael refused to let go. Instead, he ran his fingers through Carlos' hair.

A nurse ran in, ready to give Carlos a sedative. Omar stopped her from getting close to Carlos. "Don't. Just hold on."

Rafael began singing softly. "Lo que es bueno hoy. Quizas no lo sea mañana. Ten ahi el valor del momento." Carlos' body started to become less tense as he felt Rafael's hot breath tickle his ear. "Ten ahi el presente perfecto. La oportunidad de llegar. Tu veras si te montas en el ya. Agarate fuerte. Y ya no te sueltes."

Manuel noticed that Carlos' breathing began to even out at the sound of his brother's singing. He joined in. "Rie llora. Que a cada cual le llega su hora. Rie llora. Pide tu vida y gozala toda."

Eventually, Carlos calmed down. Omar eyed the nurse as she slowly left the room.

Sylvia grabbed onto Carlos' hand. "See, Carlos? We're gonna make sure that you're okay."

Carlos wiped the tears from his bruised face. "Ca-can you guys finish the song?"

Manuel and Rafael looked at each other and shrugged. They sang the rest of the song together. "Todo esta en relativo. No es que recuerde si no que no olvido. Eso es el perdon. Recordar sin dolor. Agarate fuerte. Y ya no te sueltes..." The two trailed off after seeing that Carlos had fallen asleep again. Rafael laid a kiss on Carlos' forehead, gently laid him down on the bed, and adjusted his blanket.

Manuel squeezed Rafael's shoulder once he was off the bed. "You still remember that song?"

Rafael smiled and nodded. "...I remember that it helped him out when he was younger."

"What song was that?" Omar asked, completely lost.

Rafael scoffed as he shook his head. "That's. Just. Sad."

Sylvia stayed focused on her sleeping son. She ran her knuckle down his tear stained face. "I can't stand seeing him like this," she sighed out. "Why would anyone in their right minds want to do this?" She started crying.

"That's just the thing," Omar responded, his voice sounding with all seriousness. "This person...wasn't in their right mind."

* * *

><p><strong>Okay, so here was a little break from the angst. I don't know about you, but I was so tired of Carlos being unconscious. <strong>

**The conversation that Rafael and Omar had on the couch...remember it for later. Just a little suggestion.**

**Can anyone even begin to guess the song that I used?**

**So what'd ya think?**


	14. Carrots and Brownies

**Ready for more Carlos angst?**

**I know I am!**

**Enjoy!**

**BTW, Lemme shout out to BTRQueen1497 for guessing the song I used in the last chapter. It was "Rie Y LLora" by Celia Cruz**

* * *

><p>"Carlos?" Rafael addressed his younger brother. "I really wish you would eat something." He placed some baby carrots and a bottle of water in front of Carlos. "Even if it's just a little."<p>

Carlos shook his head. "N-not hungry." He pushed away the food Rafael had offered him.

"You're not gonna recover fast enough if you starve yourself, hermanito," Rafael prayed that his brother would eat something. It had been two days since Carlos woke up and the only thing that entered his mouth was water.

Carlos shook his head again. His eyes began tearing up when he saw the pain in Rafael's eyes. He felt bad about the pain he was currently causing his family. For the past two days, he's seen his mother do nothing but cry, sometimes having to leave the hospital room. Manuel had literally gotten sick, so his visits to the hospital were limited so that he wouldn't add anymore problems to his son's already weak stage. That left Rafael. Though Carlos was effecting him as well, Rafael couldn't let that show.

"I'm sorry," Carlos whispered.

Rafael raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Sorry? For what?"

"I'm stressing everyone out," Carlos said. He was silent for a while before saying, "That's Omar's job."

Rafael laughed, glad that Carlos still had the ability to crack a joke. "I'm glad you're getting better, Carlitos." He moved the carrots closer to Carlos. "But...I need you to eat something. Please? For me."

Carlos stared at the carrots for what seemed like hours. Finally, he reached out his hand and grabbed one. Rafael smiled when he saw Carlos take a tiny bite out of the orange vegetable.

"Thank you," Rafael whispered.

Carlos finished the small carrot before pushing the rest away. "I'm full," he said.

"It's okay," Rafael said as he reached out a hand to stroke Carlos' hair. "You'll eat more later." Carlos relaxed hearing the sound of his brother's soft voice. Rafael noticed a change in Carlos' face. "Hey, I just want you to get better. You know that, right?"

Carlos nodded. He stared straight at the wall. "I'm sorry," he whispered again, as if he didn't remember that he had already apologized for no reason.

"Carlos stop," Rafael commanded. He gently moved Carlos' face so that the brothers were looking at each other straight in the eye. "Just stop apologizing." He sighed. "If anything, I should be apologizing."

Carlos raised his eyebrows. He began furiously shaking his head. "N-no. Why?"

Rafael tried to find his words. "I upset you. I caused you to leave the house. The worst part is, I didn't even try to go after you. I watched you walk out. I kept thinking that you were just overreacting and being a brat. I shouldn't have done that." He slowly shook his head. "It's all my fault, little bro."

"I overreacted," Carlos argued. "Not your fault."

Rafael grabbed Carlos' hand and the two brothers stared at each other. Rafael searched for the joy and life that usually emanated from Carlos' eyes, but his shoulders slumped when he saw emptiness instead.

"Sleep?" Carlos' voice pleaded. He shifted in the bed, finding a comfortable position.

Rafael nodded. "Sleep Carlos...but when you wake up, I want you to eat something."

"I'll try," Carlos said as his eyes drooped closed. "Not your fault," his repeated words slurred together.

* * *

><p>Omar walked into Carlos' hospital room. Manuel had sent Omar to make sure that the two of them were okay. He had bags of food in his hand to make sure that they had a decent lunch.<p>

Rafael was dead tired. Omar could tell. "Rafael?" he said as he took a seat next to his younger brother. "I brought some food for you." He handed Rafael a cheeseburger and fries.

Rafael sighed. "I-I'm not hungry," he replied. Omar heard Rafael's voice cracking.

Carlos shifted in bed, he had a look of distress, but they knew he was having a nightmare. Once he had one, you couldn't pull him out of it.

Omar saw the carrots placed at Carlos' bedside. "Those for him?" he asked. Rafael slowly nodded. "You expected Carlos to eat measly carrots and you won't even eat something that's actually good?"

Rafael smirked. "I'm not hurt."

"Yeah, physically," Omar said. "Eat." He opened up the burger wrapper and watched as Rafael accepted the sandwich and took a bite.

"Thanks," Rafael said as he slowly chewed. He scoffed. "It's weird. Carlos isn't dead...But I miss...him. Carlos is here...but he's just a shell." He inhaled deeply. "I wanna kill the man whoever did this."

Eventually, Rafael finished his food and began to crave dessert. He started digging through the bag Omar had brought in earlier. "No dessert?" Rafael asked, sounding like a sad, disappointed child. Rafael had a high sugar dependency every time he was under extreme stress.

Omar shook his head. "My new job is at the restaurant near the high school," Omar pointed out. While Carlos was in the hospital, Omar had applied for a job to start the process of turning his life around. A real job. Yesterday was his first day. "You think I'd spend the little spare cash I have on your sweet tooth desires?"

"I was hoping..." Rafael trailed off. He glanced at Carlos and stood up. "I-I...I just wanna pick something up from the c-cafeteria." he stuttered.

"Go," Omar said. "Carlos won't be alone, alright?" That's when Omar saw another look on Rafael's face. "I won't hurt him," Omar reassured.

Rafael nodded while staring at Carlos. "Okay." He planted a kiss on Carlos' forehead.

Rafael walked out of the room. He took a trip to the bathroom first, suddenly feeling like his bladder was about to explode, before he finally went to the cafeteria.

Rafael looked at the menu of desserts the hospital had given. Ice cream verses chocolate cake. Cookies verses brownies. The battle raged in Rafael's mind.

"You seem lost," a voice from behind made him spin on his heels. He turned to face a tan girl in pink scrubs.

Rafael shook his head and scoffed. "Uh. No I'm not. J-just deciding what to eat." He finally settled on brownies. That's what Carlos would have done. He stretched out his hand to the nurse. "Rafael Garcia," he said with a big smile.

The nurse smiled. "Cristina Vargas," the nurse responded, shaking Rafael's hand. "Uh," she thought. "You wouldn't happen to be Carlos Garcia's brother, would you?"

Rafael nodded.

The nurse breathed out. "I took care of him yesterday," Cristina said. "All Carlos could talk about was you. He said that you are an amazing person and you deserve every bit of happiness. He's such a sweet boy and it hurts me that he's been hurt so bad...but every time he mentioned your name, I swear that his eyes lit up a little."

"Wow," Rafael said. He was pretty much speechless. He could feel himself blushing. "C-Carlos tends to exaggerate."

Cristina shook her head. "But I still believe him."

"Thanks," Rafael said. He glanced at the dessert counter behind Cristina.

She immediately knew where his gaze had drifted to. "Oh, brownies?"

Rafael nodded. "I have a real bad sweet tooth...especially during times like this..." He shifted his gaze to the floor.

"How about I walk with you?" Cristina asked. "You buy your dessert, and I'll walk you."

"So... You're the nurse assigned to Carlos' room for the rest of the week?" Rafael assumed.

Cristina scoffed. "Make that the rest of his stay. I'm the only nurse that Carlos hasn't cried around. Dr. Raymond is very impressed with that."

"That makes me happy," Rafael said as he picked out his large brownie and paid for it.

The two walked back towards Carlos' room.

"You know what else Carlos told me?" Cristina asked.

"I'm afraid that at this point, you could write a book about me," Rafael answered, causing the both of them to smile.

"He said that you are what kept him going during his...ordeal," Cristina responded.

Rafael stopped walking. "Wait," he said, causing Cristina to also stop. "Carlos talked to you about his attack?"

Cristina nodded. "H-he was really sad about...everything."

"Do you mind telling me what he said?" Rafael asked. Cristina heard the pleading in Rafael's voice.

She hesitated before answering. "He was on meds when he was telling this story, so not everything might have been clear." She thought back to yesterday, piecing together everything Carlos mentioned. "He said he was in a park at first." Rafael nodded. He knew that much. "He said he heard a voice that sounded familiar call him...but he was so freaked out that he couldn't put two and two together...so he started running, but didn't get far before he tripped. He said he was able to get a punch or two in, but in the end, his attacker overpowered him." Cristina sighed. "The man that attacked him...used a bat..."

Rafael winced. His mood and expression had changed from a happy calm to a sad anger. "A b-bat?" he stuttered.

Cristina sadly nodded. "A-and with the extent of his injuries...a bat seems very plausible."

"I-I know," Rafael whispered. He felt embarrassed at the sound of his voice cracking. "I know."

Cristina pulled Rafael in a hug. She didn't know what possessed her to do that, but she did. She saw Rafael was practically in shock, and in desperate need of comfort.

"Thank you," Rafael whispered as he slowly pulled away from Cristina. "D-did he say who did this?"

Cristina shook her head. "I think he knows who it is," Cristina said. "He just can't bring himself to say it." Rafael's shoulders slumped as they continued walking.

As they neared Carlos' room, Rafael could already tell that something wasn't right. He didn't have to glance through the small window in Carlos' room door. He just knew something was wrong. He barged into the room.

Rafael saw the tears pouring down Carlos' face, and the unreadable expression coming from Omar's. That's when Rafael lost it. "C-Carlos? Omar? What happened?"

Carlos cried harder, causing Rafael and Cristina to run up to Carlos and comfort him. Rafael glared at Omar. "What did you do?" Rafael asked Omar.

"Nothing!" Omar said, hoping to defend himself.

Rafael became furious. He grabbed Omar by the collar, making him stand up from his seat. "What did you do?" Rafael asked again, putting a more menacing tone in his voice.

"I-I just talked to him," Omar answered.

"About what?" Rafael asked. He was beginning to lose his patience.

Omar swallowed the lump in his throat. "I...I talked about Dad."

* * *

><p><strong>I leave you alone for just a few minutes, and you do something like this? Omar, what is your problem?<strong>

***Sigh* maybe one of you guys can answer that in your reviews. What about their dad made Carlos freak out? I wanna see your guesses.**

**Deuces! **


	15. Another Confession

**Okay...I do remember that there was a point of time in my life where I had a heart...**

**You might hate me after this chapter...well..more than you already do...**

**Enjoy!**

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><p>Rafael felt his chest constricting. "O-Omar," he breathed out. "Please tell me you're joking." Rafael's eyes widened as he stared at his older brother.<p>

Omar solemnly shook his head. He tried to say something, but Rafael cut him off.

"Why?" Rafael asked. "That was almost twenty years ago. That's a fact about Dad that Carlos should have never known about."

"It slipped out!" Omar defended.

"How does something like that just slip out?" Rafael asked angrily. "I leave you alone for a few minutes..." he muttered under his breath.

"Guys," Cristina called out, the two men almost forgot that she was in the room. "Carlos is a little better."

Rafael rushed to his brother's bed. He pulled Carlos into a hug. "You okay, little guy?" he asked as he rubbed circles on Carlos' back. He could feel how tense his little brother's body had become.

Carlos sobbed a little bit before answering. "O-Omar's lying. He's lying, right?"

Rafael sighed. He held his brother tighter, careful not to hurt Carlos' healing ribs. "D-don't think about that right now," he finally responded. "Just...breathe okay?" Rafael glared at Omar.

"I-is it true?" Carlos begged. He couldn't stand Rafael's silence. Omar was a liar. He always was. Why should he believe him now? "Omar's lying," Carlos repeated to himself.

Rafael ran his hand through Carlos' hair. "I told you not to worry about that, hermanito." He felt Carlos' body tense up even more.

"Is. It. True?" Carlos asked again. He was really losing his patience. Rafael could hear the anger seething from his voice."Tell me!" he shouted, which caused Rafael, Omar, and Cristina to jump.

Rafael looked to Omar and Cristina. "Can I be alone with him?" he asked them, not really giving them a choice. He watched the two walk out the door. He sighed when he looked into Carlos' big, brown eyes. "C-Carlos...I'm so sorry."

Carlos began crying hysterically. "No! You're lying. Why are you lying to me?" He weakly shoved Rafael away, not wanting to be hugged by a man that had lied to him his entire life. "It...it can't be true."

"C-Carlos...i-it is..." Rafael stuttered out. "When Omar and me were younger...Dad...he...he abused us."

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><p><em>Omar and Rafael walked back home from school. It was the first day they had gone back since their mother had died, and they had to stay after school because although they were young, they were heavily involved in after school programs. They spotted their father's car outside, and knew that Manuel hadn't gone to work today. Omar held his brother's hand, ready for whatever was behind that door.<em>

_The first thing they saw when they walked in was the sight of their father drinking his life away. Again. Rafael's eyes widened. He brushed his fingers on the large bruise he had on his arm. As far as people at school know, that bruise was from falling off the swing. He didn't want people to know that his father had given it to him. Omar gently pushed Rafael behind him. "H-hey Dad," Omar greeted his father._

_Rafael jumped when his father rose from the couch. He stumbled a little bit. That's when Omar said something he shouldn't have. "Dad, you're dizzy from the drinks...maybe...if you cut back.." he stopped his suggestion when he saw the fire coming from Manuel's eyes._

_Omar made sure Rafael was still securely behind him._

_"What'd you say?" Manuel asked._

_Omar swallowed the lump in his throat. He felt Rafael grab his arm. He didn't want to repeat what he said, seeing as how Manuel was already seething with rage. Omar took a step back, gently pushing Rafael to follow that motion._

_Omar suddenly felt the sting of a backhand slap. "S-sorry," he stuttered._

_"You think because your mom's around you can say whatever you want?" Manuel asked. Omar shook his head frantically, hoping that would calm Manuel. It didn't. Manuel slapped him again, not being able to control the sudden anger building up in his body._

_At this point, Rafael had begun crying, begging his dad to stop before something bad really happened. Again. He ran to Manuel and grabbed his wrist. "Please Dad. Don't do this," Rafael begged between sobs. Omar's eyes widened as he fear for his little brother's safety._

_Manuel growled and pushed Rafael away, making the small boy land hard on his butt. Omar couldn't react before he was pushed into the wall. He felt the back of his head collide with the white wall. The sudden force made him dizzy as he slid down to the floor._

_Manuel breathed deeply. He took a step towards Omar, seeming like he was about to do something else. Omar curled into a ball, not knowing any other way he would be able to protect himself. Strangely, Manuel spun on his heels and walked out of the living room._

_"Omar!" Rafael called as he crawled the small distance to his older brother._

_Omar fought his haze in order to comfort his brother. He pulled Rafael into a hug. "It's okay. It's okay," he chanted into Rafael's ear. "He didn't do anything too bad this time, okay?" Omar felt tears forming in his eyes as he sat with his crying brother. "It's okay," he repeated upon seeing that Rafael had not calmed down yet. Omar knew that Rafael was thinking about what had happened a few days before, which resulted in Omar being knocked out._

_Omar finally let the tears fall from his eyes. They were broken. And it was all his fault.  
><em>

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><p>"I hope you're happy now," Rafael said sarcastically to his older brother as the two of them stood outside Carlos' room. "He won't talk to us." Cristina was currently in Carlos' room. She was the only one he allowed in his room. Right now, Cristina was trying once again to calm him down.<p>

Omar sighed. "I'm serious. I didn't mean for the conversation to go there. I mean it." Omar hoped that Rafael would at least look him in the eye. "Rafael...C'mon." Omar reached out to put his arm on Rafael's shoulder.

Rafael shrugged it off. "Carlos was to never know about it. Dad was weak! He changed before Carlos was born!"

"You don't think I know that?" Omar asked. He sighed. "Look, we needa tell Dad about this."

Rafael shook his head. "No, alright? Dad can**_not_** find out about this."

"You think the shortie's gonna keep quiet after this?" Omar asked, making Rafael think a little. "If we don't tell Dad, Carlos will certainly bring it up!"

Rafael sighed in defeat, knowing that his brother was right. "Not we," he finally said. "You. You're gonna tell Papi."

Omar sighed. "Yeah...I know." He ran his fingers through his hair, messing it up a bit. "I screwed up big time."

"Duh, genius," Rafael replied. Omar heard the bitterness in his tone.

Carlos' room door opened, causing Omar and Rafael to jump. Cristina walked out.

"Is he okay?" Rafael asked.

Cristina sighed. "He's asleep...finally," she said as she looked down. "He's really broken up right now." She glared at the two brothers. "I'm not gonna ask what freaked out Carlos so much...but I'll say this. You guys needa fix this. You guys agree that everything going on, Carlos doesn't deserve it-"

Rafael cut her off. "I know that, alright?" he snapped. Rafael was still trying to wrap his head around everything going on. Carlos was one of the most innocent boys a person would ever meet. Now, it was like he was getting punished. For what?

Cristina sighed. "Look...just be happy that I didn't have to sedate him." She glared at the two brothers before she turned around a began to walk off. "I'll catch you guys later."

They watched as Cristina walked away from them. Omar's phone began ringing. He checked the caller ID. "Great," he sighed as he rolled his eyes. "It's Dad."

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><p><strong>Carlos just can't get a break...Sorry.<strong>

**Okay so what did you think about that little twist?**

**Review!**

**I am now off to work on my one-shot for Baxxie in my Kaleidoscope story! I've been slacking! Gah! **


	16. All You Can Do Is Cry

**More angst!  
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**Enjoy!  
><strong>

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><p>"Mijo," Manuel addressed his youngest son. "I'm sorry that your mother and I hid that from you."<p>

Carlos' eyes widened as he looked to his mother. "Mom? You knew?" he asked, still in shock.

Sylvia nodded. Manuel decided to cut in after seeing the look on Carlos' face. "But she changed me," he said. "I-I'm not excusing what I did. I would never do that. I abused my sons and I'll always hate myself for that. I don't know why I turned into such a monster when Juana died." He sighed before continuing. "There are a lot of things in my life that I thought I would never recover from. When Juana died, I thought I had lost the only source of happiness left. I completely forgot about Omar and Rafael. I messed with them. I'd be really nice to them one day, then hurt them the next They were so confused and lost. And it was all my fault. But Carlos, when I met your mother, I felt a bit of happiness return until gradually...I began to feel complete again..."

"So, Mami," Carlos said. "Before you married him, you knew that he was hurting Rafael and Omar?"

Sylvia nodded. "I took a chance and promised that I'd help him." She gave a small smile. "And look. Everything worked out."

"Almost everything," Carlos whispered.

"We're sorry, mijo," Sylvia said. "Do...do you think you can find it in your heart to forgive us?"

"I wanna talk to Omar," Carlos demanded. He was serious and he wanted everyone to know that. "Where is he?"

"He's in the hallway," Manuel answered. "...We'll go get him." He grabbed his wife's hand and led her out. "Omar," Manuel addressed his older son who was furiously texting on his phone. "Carlos. He wants to see you."

Rafael and Omar looked at each other in confusion.

"Why?" Omar asked. He didn't want to sound mean, he was just really curious.

"Just go," Manuel responded, frustration in his voice.

Omar was quick in obeying. His father meant business. He slowly opened Carlos' door. "Hey, shortie," he said as he walked in.

Carlos watched as his brother slowly took a seat on a chair next to the bed. To Carlos, he was too far away. "Come closer," he told his older brother.

Omar hesitated before scooting his chair as close to the bed as possible. "I can't go any closer," he informed. "Is that good enough?"

Carlos nodded as he reached over to pull Omar into a hug.

Omar tensed up, shocked at the sudden action taken by his little brother. Soon he returned the act by gently wrapping his arms around Carlos' torso. "C-Carlos," Omar said. That was the first time he had used Carlos real name in a long time. They separated. "What was that for?" He stared at Carlos wide eyed.

"I know why you did it," Carlos responded. He felt his eyes tear up but he refused to let any tears fall. "It wasn't your fault. I feel bad. For years, I tried to hate you for what you did to me...But I never could. I kept thinking that maybe...maybe I was doing something to upset you all the time. I tried to be a perfect kid but I could never please you. You would always hit me anyway. Rafael said you were just a naturally angry person who shouldn't be forgiven. But I argued with him! I thought that there must be something I could do to make you like me...I just never figured it out...But I think I finally have the answer. It's not what I did...it's what I _didn't_do. You and Rafael were...were beat by Papi." He paused. That last sentence felt like acid on his tongue. "Papi never beat me. He spanked me, but what you and Rafael got and what I got were two totally different things. You wanted me to feel that, didn't you? You were mad at me for getting treated better than you, weren't you?"

Omar just stared. Carlos had never opened up to Omar. His mouth just hung open as he processed everything Carlos had just said.

"Just know," Carlos continued. "If I could trade places with you and Rafael I would...I don't like knowing that the people I love are hurting. Even you, Omar. You're my brother and I love you. I...I just wish you could have seen that."

It took Carlos nearly beaten to death, landing in a hospital, and dying in order for these two brothers to have a conversation like this. Omar shook the thought out of his mind, but Carlos kept talking.

"I forgive you," Carlos finally croaked out. "For everything. I just want you to forgive me."

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><p>"Bryan," Johnny addressed Omar's friend. "Why isn't Omar answering any of our calls?"<p>

Bryan shrugged. "Maybe he's been busy?" he guessed, though a strange feeling in his gut told him that wasn't the case. He had been anxious to hear what Omar was talking about the last time they texted each other. Something told Bryan that Omar's sudden disappearance has to do with what Omar wanted to talk about.

Johnny shook his head. "Omar and busy have never been used in the same sentence."

"Did you do anything to upset him?" Bryan asked. Bad idea.

"Did I do anything to upset him?" Johnny asked, shooting up from his seat on the couch and getting in Bryan's face. "If anything, you should be asking if he did anything to upset me!" Johnny wasn't joking. He felt completely justified, as if he were the victim. "He held out from paying me what he owed."

"Sorry," Bryan apologized, suddenly very scared. He didn't know about Carlos' attack, so he suddenly felt like the question he had asked was totally stupid. "J-just trying to rule out any possibility..." Bryan felt about two feet tall right now.

"Find out where he is," Johnny commanded. "I needa speak with him."

"What are you gonna do?" Bryan asked. His eyes widened just a little bit.

"I'm his friend," Johnny replied with a smile. "I just wanna see if he's okay."

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><p><em>I furiously ran from the masked man behind me. Or, tried to. I felt like dying after I tripped over the small hole in the ground. I couldn't do anything before he felt the man grab me by the collar. It was then that I noticed what the man was carrying. A bat. How I didn't notice that before, I'm not sure. The point is, he had a bat, which could only mean that he meant business. <em>"Now would be a good time to remember all the self defense Dad taught you,"_ I said to myself. _

_My thoughts were interrupted as I saw the man attempt his first swing at me. I'm not sure how, but I was able to grab the bat, stopping him from smashing it into me, before I punched him in his stomach. I felt proud of myself for a second, after seeing that I was able to act and think even though I was full blown panicking. When I saw that I'd stunned the man, I grabbed his bat and tried running again, which seemed like a good idea at the time. _

_I felt a rough hand grab my wrist as I was forcefully turned to face this guy. He punched me in the jaw and all I could feel was pain radiating on my face. "Oh no," I said softly as I watched the bat fall from my grip. I tried punching him again, but it proved unsuccessful this time._

_I felt his hands wrap around my neck, and I swore that I was going to die. I could hear his evil laugh as the world around me began fading to black. I'm not sure why, but I could only think of one thing to do. Call for Rafael. It was stupid, I know. But I did it. Of course, it didn't work. It's kind of hard to talk when you're not receiving any oxygen in your body. Suddenly, he let me go. I fell to the ground with a thud. As soon as I took a deep breath of air I began coughing. Then I did something stupid. "Rafael," I croaked out. _Stop calling him, idiot. He can't hear you and he's not coming._ I needed Rafael and for the first time, he wasn't going to come. My eyes widened as I saw the man pick up the bat. He was only getting started._

_"Let this be a lesson learned, kid," he said to me. "No one. Fights. Me." He hit me with the bat between each word. His beating continued and I could swear that when I looked up at him I could see a sick smile grow on his face as I cried._

_He hit me everywhere. After a while, I stopped feeling the hits. I felt pain, but not the bat. It was weird. I felt like I was being choked all over again. It was getting harder to breathe and each breath sent a feeling of knives stabbing my ribcage. When the bat hit my arm, I started freaking out. I didn't think this beating could get any worse. "St-stop. Please?" I begged. I started coughing, and I felt a metallic flavor in my mouth. Imagine my panic when I found out that it was blood. _

_He bent down. "What do you want, kid?" he asked me. I could only respond in one way._

_"I wanna...I wanna go home," I replied as I continued to cry like a big baby._

_He got closer to me. "That's not what you wanna do," he said, as if he were trying to warn me. "The people at home," he continued. "Are the ones that put you in this mess."_

_My eyes widened. The first person I thought about was Dad. I know for a fact that criminals hold grudges. "D-Dad?" I asked. I felt more pain as I coughed and was greeted with the sight of more blood._

_He shook his head and whispered something in my ear. "Tell 'em Johnny sent ya."_

_I could only gasp before I felt a sharp pain on the side of my head._

_I don't know how, but I was miraculously awake after that. Must be because of that metal plate in my head. Every time I felt myself slipping away to unconsciousness, a jolt of pain woke me up. I couldn't tell if it was a good or bad thing. _Could this get any worse?

_Of course it could. Because it started raining. I started crying harder. No one was going to save me. By the time someone finds me, it might be too late._

_I could feel my cell phone vibrating in my pocket multiple times. Maybe someone noticed that I'm missing._

_I don't know how long it was before anything finally happened, but after what felt like hours, I started to hear very distant voices. I had grown completely numb at this point, just waiting for death to come and take me. _

_"Don't touch him," I heard someone command. "W-we don't know how bad he's hurt." The voice sounded awfully familiar, but I couldn't think right now. I thought I was imagining things. Suddenly, I felt something warm cover my body. It brought a little source of comfort. _

_Then I felt a warm hand grab my hand. This was real. It had to be. I started coughing again. I must have coughed up more blood because I heard a second voice. "Dad! Dad! Why is he coughing up blood?"_

_"The ambulance will be here in five minutes," the first voice said. "You hear that, mijo? Five minutes. You'll be okay." _Mijo. Papi's here. Papi found me.

_I started coughing again. I started hurting so bad. I couldn't take it anymore._

_"Stay awake, Carlos!" the second voice commanded me."You're gonna be okay!" I remember the last thought of mine before I became unconscious. Rafael was there. He was the second voice. _Rafael found me.

Carlos woke up from his nightmareish flashback. He didn't know how long he had been asleep, but by the looks of it, it had been a while.

He turned to his left and saw his parents, Rafael, and Omar sleeping uncomfortably in their chairs.

He sighed. He still remembered everything, but he couldn't get himself to tell his family what had happened that night. He couldn't say why it was so hard for him to do. All he had to say was, "It was that Johnny guy! He did it!" and maybe this whole thing would blow over. But for some reason, it wasn't that simple.

He started shedding tears of frustration. Why couldn't he do this.

"Mijo?" Manuel called out sleepily. He shot up from his chair, gently so as to not wake up his wife, and got closer to Carlos. "Mijo, what's wrong?"

Carlos cried harder as he felt his dad wrap his arms around him. Carlos' body stiffened as his mind raged war. _He's your dad! He cares for you! He abused your brothers! Dad loves all of us! He can be trusted. He lied to you..._

Nothing was working out right. It's bad enough that he was here at a hospital until the doctors say he's okay to go home. But to hear news of what his father had done really hit him hard.

"J-just a bad dream," he finally replied in between sobs. "Just go back to sleep, Dad." He squirmed out of his dad's grasp and laid back on the back. He turned his body, his back now facing his father. He eventually fell back asleep after silent sobs wracked his body.

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><p><strong>I'm not quite sure how I feel with this chapter.<br>**

**Okay, hope you enjoyed that "small" tid bit with Carlos. I wanted to give a little insight on what was going through his mind when his attack happened. This is the first time that I've used first person POV before, so how'd I do?  
><strong>


	17. Giving a Statement

**I throw my sword up in the air sometimes, saying hey-yo! My name is Cato! **

**My bad way of combining Hunger Games and Dynamite by Taio Cruz *sigh*  
><strong>

**Enjoy!**

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><p>"You excited buddy?" Rafael asked. "You get to go home tomorrow." He smiled. He could see that Carlos was suffocating in this hospital.<p>

Carlos eagerly nodded. "Yeah, but I know Mami's gonna try and be all over-protective like she always does."

Rafael scoffed. Sylvia did have a tendency to want to protect her son every time something bad happened to him. "Don't worry," Rafael said as he gave a reassuring pat in Carlos' shoulder. "Dad and I will make sure that doesn't happen again."

"You almost seem sad that I'm leaving," Carlos stated.

Rafael raised an eyebrow. "Why would I be sad that my baby brother is HEALING and leaving the hospital to go HOME?" He gave Carlos a "duh" look.

Carlos smiled. "My nurse." Carlos noticed Rafael's face slowly reddening. "You're sweet on her."

Rafael scoffed. "I don't know what you're talking about," he said.

"Oh please," Omar said at the doorway suddenly, making his younger brothers jump. "You're so much in love with her that it's almost sad."

"How long have you been standing there?" Rafael finally asked, completely ignoring Omar's last statement.

"Long enough," Omar replied with a smirk. He sighed, knowing that the next bit of news will probably scare the poor kid. "Anyway, I have good news and bad news," he finally announced.

Omar's younger brothers looked anxiously at him as they awaited to hear what he had to say.

"The good news is," Omar began. "Dad's feeling a little bit better. He's not ready to go back to work yet, of course, but it's a start." He hesitated before saying the bad news. "Which brings me to my bad news." He saw the panicked look on his brothers' faces. "You know how cops get when someone goes after their own...when Dad's precinct got news of this...they decided to help Dad out by solving this case. Carlos...they can only do that if they take a statement from you."

Carlos was silent at first, staring into space. Rafael grew a little worried, until Carlos started speaking again. "I...I can't."

Rafael sighed and put a hand on Carlos' shoulder. "Carlitos, I know it's hard for you...but maybe if you help the cops find this lunatic, you can find some peace of mind. It'll help you a lot knowing that this man is behind bars."

Carlos shook his head. "No...I can't do it."

"Give us one good reason," Omar demanded as he folded his arms over his chest.

Carlos' and Omar's eyes looked. As Carlos stared at Omar, he suddenly grew afraid. He didn't like the way Omar was looking at him. Omar had anger in his eyes. The same anger Carlos always saw before Omar beat him or yelled at him. Carlos finally tore away from his gaze, turning his head away as he felt tears burning his eyes. "I...I just can't," he finally choked out.

"Everyone's trying to help you, Shortie!" Omar yelled, causing Carlos to jump again.

"Omar, relax," Rafael said as he pulled Carlos into a hug. "You're scaring him." He began rubbing circles on Carlos' back, hoping that would calm him down.

"So you're telling me that Carlos shouldn't talk about what happened?" Omar asked.

"No, I'm not saying that," Rafael answered. "I'm just saying that we should wait until he's ready to talk about it."

"And when will that be?" Omar asked. "You know what Dad being a cop has taught us. The longer it takes for a person to make a statement, the worse it gets! Who knows what Carlos' attacker is doing now or where he is?"

Rafael knew one thing. Omar had a point. But right now, Rafael was torn. He wanted Carlos to tell everyone what happened. The person who attacked Carlos deserved time in jail. But at the same time, Rafael couldn't stand seeing his little brother in distress. He sighed when the truth hit him. Carlos couldn't wait. He needed to get his statement over with. "Hermanito," Rafael said. "Om-Omar's right. You need to tell the cops what happened."

Carlos' body tensed up. "N-no. Please don't make me. I can't do it! Please don't make me do it."

"But if you tell the cops," Rafael began. "That man will be put in jail. You won't have anything to worry about."

"And what if they don't find him?" Carlos said between sobs. "Then he'll know that I ratted to the cops and come after me. Or worse! He'll come after one of you guys! I'll never forgive myself if anything happens to anyone in my family." Carlos continued crying, holding his brother tighter. Just the thought of Johnny doing something to someone in his family made Carlos sick.

"Nothing is gonna happen to us," Rafael said. He ran his fingers through Carlos' hair. "But if you keep hiding the truth from everybody, who knows what this guy is currently doing to other people right now? If he's not put in jail, he could hurt other people. You don't want that to happen, right?" Rafael knew that Carlos loved people, and by saying what he just said, he knew he hit Carlos' heart.

"Okay," Carlos whispered, suddenly unable to raise his voice any higher. "I-I'll do it. But what if he hurts you or Omar or Mami and Papi?"

"We'll be fine," Omar cut in.

"Promise?" Carlos asked both his brothers.

"Promise," Omar and Rafael responded.

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><p>"The cops are coming in a few minutes," Rafael announced. "You ready, hermanito?"<p>

Carlos didn't respond. Rafael could see the nervousness coming from Carlos. His hand were shaking, his face seemed several shades lighter, and his breathing rate increased as time went by.

Rafael put his arm around Carlos' shoulders. "Are you ready?" he repeated.

"No," Carlos finally responded. He swallowed the lump in his throat. "You're right. I gotta do this...but I don't think I can..."

"Would it help if I stay with you?" Rafael asked. "You know. While the police are here."

Carlos looked at his brother with his big brown eyes and nodded. "Please?"

"I'll stay," Rafael said. He felt highly obligated to keep Carlos at ease. And today wouldn't be any different.

"Where's Omar?" Carlos finally asked.

Rafael shrugged. "I don't know, buddy. He took a phone call and said he'd be back, okay. So just wait."

Carlos obeyed as he nervously played with his sheets. His face lit up when Omar walked in, but suddenly fell when he saw two uniformed men walk in behind them.

Omar laughed nervously. "I ran into them on the way here," Omar said, gesturing toward the two cops. "Don't worry. I already made it clear that we're not leaving Carlos by himself."

Rafael smiled at Omar's comment. The jerk does care.

The two cops were very plain looking guys. The older one looked like a regular cop that you would see on TV. All he needed was a donut and balding hair. The second one looked like a rookie, that wasn't hard to tell.

The older cop began speaking. "I'm Officer Green, and this is my partner, Officer Michaels. We're here to ask you a few questions."

Omar felt like speaking out and saying "well duh!" but he figured he shouldn't do anything stupid.

Carlos gave a small smile as he saw the look on Omar's face.

"What happened that night you were attacked?" Officer Green asked. No small talk. No beating around the bush. Just straight to the point. The boys could tell that this guy was a tough one.

Carlos took a deep breath. Rafael grabbed Carlos' hand and squeezed it.

Carlos began speaking. He didn't leave out a thing. He talked about walking to the park. He talked about the man appearing. He talked about being beaten with the bat. He said everything. Well, almost everything. He left out an important detail.

"You said the man said something to you before he hit your head," Officer Green pointed out. "What was it?"

Carlos' eyes widened. He swallowed the lump in hie throat and looked over to his brothers, who urged him to answer the final question. "Tell 'em Johnny sent ya," Carlos finally answered. His voice cracked as he said that last sentence but he didn't care.

Omar and Rafael's facial expressions suddenly changed. The bad thing, Rafael noticed Omar's change in demeanor.

"Thanks, kid," Officer Michaels said. "We'll find this guy."

Carlos gave a sad smile as he watched the officers walk away.

"You did good, hermanito," Rafael said when he heard his brother let out a sigh of relief. Rafael looked over to Omar, then back at Carlos. "Listen I needa talk to Omar, okay? But we'll be right outside your door so just call if you need anything, okay?" Rafael laid a kiss on Carlos' forehead. He looked back at Omar. "C'mon," he demanded.

Omar was a bit confused at Rafael's request and attitude. "What's wrong, Rafael?" Omar asked once they had left Carlos' room.

"You know who attacked Carlos?" he asked. He crossed his arms and looked Omar dead in the eye. "You do, don't you? Is it a coincidence that we meet a guy named Johnny when we went to go see you?"

Omar sighed. He had to be careful of what to say next. He really didn't know how to answer that question. "Look, man, I didn't know it was him...til now. And...I didn't know that he'd actually do it-"

Rafael cut him off. "Actually do it? Meaning, he threatened Carlos before?" Omar stayed silent. "What's going on?" Rafael demanded to know.

Omar was seriously becoming afraid of his brother right now. "I-I owed Johnny some money. Long story," he said before Rafael could ask anything. "That night you and shortie came over, he came over to remind me of my debt. When he found out that you two were my brothers, he threatened the two of you. I begged him not to do anything...after I promised him the money, be backed off...so I thought..."

Rafael didn't know what came over him. The next thing he knew, he punched Omar in the jaw, he didn't care if anyone saw anything. "He's in here cuz of you," Rafael said with clenched teeth. "Our little brother basically DIED cuz of you!" he reminded Omar. Even to this day, Rafael couldn't get the image of Carlos' heart stopping out of his head. "You're really screwing up, Omar."

"I didn't know this would happen!" Omar argued as he held his jaw in pain with one hand and balanced himself on the wall with the other.

Rafael opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. He looked straight into Omar's eyes. He jabbed his index finger into Omar's chest. "If ANYTHING happens to Carlitos...it's on you." Rafael gave Omar one last evil glare and walked back towards Carlos' room.

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><p><strong>Omar Omar Omar. You just can't stay outta trouble, can you?<strong>

**Well, this chapter I ain't to proud with :'( But it'll get better from here on out!**

**Hope you liked it anyway! Drop a review :)  
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	18. New Trouble

**I spent today trying to keep this *points to self* a ten. ;)**

**Yeah right! I ain't no California dime! I'm from Texas.  
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**Enjoy!**

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><p>If looks could kill, Omar would be a dead heap on the floor right now. The way his little brother looked at him sent chills down his spine. He knew he had to make everything right or Rafael would never forgive him. Omar knew the only reason Rafael had allowed him back around Carlos was because their father insisted that Carlos needed both his brothers today.<p>

Would he have said that if he knew that all of this was Omar's fault?

Carlos was going home today. He would never admit it, but Omar was happy for that.

"C'mon hermanito," Rafael said as he helped his little brother out of bed. "Once you change into your clothes we can take you straight home."

Carlos happily obeyed. He practically jumped out of his bed. "Can we get ice cream on our way home?" he asked as Rafael led him to the bathroom.

"We'll see," Rafael responded. And by "we'll see", he meant yes. How could he say no to Carlos?

"Does Omar get ice cream too?" Carlos called out from inside the bathroom.

Rafael glared at the man in question. Omar felt two feet tall right now. He wished he could be anywhere but here.

"Maybe," Rafael finally answered Carlos. "If he behaves." _Which he hasn't._

Carlos stepped out of the bathroom, a huge smile on his face. He couldn't wait to leave the hospital and be in familiar surroundings. His arm was still in a sling, which was the only setback, but he didn't mind that at the moment. He was going home.

"I want cookies and cream," Carlos said as his brothers led him out of the hospital.

"You take what I give you," Rafael joked. He helped his little brother into the backseat of his car.

"Omar," Carlos addressed his older brother when he noticed a strange feeling in the car. "Why are you so quiet? And where'd that bruise on your face from?" Carlos felt bad for not noticing the bruise before. He couldn't believe he'd been so selfish.

Omar subconsciously touched his large bruise that laid on the left side of his face. "N-nothing, shortie," he finally answered. "Just a little accident from work."

"It looks really bad," Carlos said. Worry was very present in his voice. "Are you sure nothing's wrong?"

Omar nodded and smiled. "Nothing to worry about."

The entire time, Rafael's gaze shifted between the road and Omar. Omar couldn't wait for this day to be over. Omar could feel the rage seething from Rafael's body. Can this day get any worse?

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><p>Yes. Yes it can.<p>

Omar heard a knock at his door as he watched a rerun of SNL. He slowly got off the couch to answer the door. His good mood left him when he saw who was on the other side of the door.

"Bryan," Omar said, making the hate for his ex best friend very evident. "What are you doing here?"

"You weren't answering my calls," Bryan answered. "I just wanted to make sure that you're okay."

"Peachy," Omar responded as he began to close the door.

Unfortunately, Bryan saw that coming. He placed his foot in the door before it could close completely. "What's your deal?" he asked, frustrated with Omar's bad attitude.

"What's my deal?" Omar repeated for emphasis. "My deal is that I'm pissed with you and Johnny."

Bryan was confused. He scrunched his eyebrows together. "What did we do?"

Omar scoffed. "I texted you almost a week ago," Omar began saying. "I told you that I was with my brothers in the hospital? Why do you think my brother was in the hospital?" Omar glared at him. "Were you shocked that you and Johnny's plan to kill my brother didn't work?"

"Hold up!" Bryan commanded. "We didn't try to kill your brother! What are you talking about?"

Omar felt like he was talking to a wall. Couldn't Bryan stop playing innocent for once and just confess to what he did? "I'm talking about beating the shortie senseless and putting him in a coma!"

"What?" Bryan cried out, very offended. "Why would I try to kill your brother? What is going on?"

Bryan had a look in his eyes that Omar had seen very few times during their friendship. Sincerity. Bryan really had no clue what Omar was talking about. Omar sighed, getting his emotions in check, before finally responding. "Someone beat Carlos with a bat and put him in a coma for a few days. He gave his statement, saying that he knew who did it and it was Johnny!" Omar ran his fingers through his hair. "I'm sorry. I thought you helped him."

Well, Bryan did kind of help Johnny. He was the one that gave Johnny information about the Garcia family in the first place, but Bryan wasn't going to remind Omar of that.

"Dude," Bryan finally said after everything sunk in. "I had no idea Johnny actually fell through with that." Bryan hesitated before asking his next question. His head waged war, not even able to imagine what Omar's response would be. "So...what...what are you gonna do next?"

It seems that Omar's eyes grew darker as he responded. "Rafael hates me right now. I needa make this right before my father begins to hate me as well." He sighed. "I needa take Johnny down."

Yeah, that's why Bryan didn't even want to ask in the first place.

* * *

><p>Rafael stayed with Carlos until the small boy fell asleep on the couch.<p>

Sylvia came downstairs from her bedroom shortly after, she sighed after seeing the adorable sight that is her son. "Rafael," she addressed her younger step son. "Do you think you can take Carlos upstairs to his bed? He's gonna wake up stiff with that position he's in."

Rafael nodded. He took two steps to his little brother and gently lifted him up bridal style. He was about to head upstairs when Sylvia's voice stopped him.

"Thank you, Rafael," she began. "For everything. You've helped out so much and I don't think we would have been able to do all this without you."

Carlos stirred in Rafael's arms, which caused the both of them to smile.

"It's no problem, Mom," he responded. "He's my brother. I should be always there for him." Unlike some people.

"But you didn't have to," Sylvia said. "But you did anyway and that means a lot to me and your father."

Rafael gave a shy smile. "I'm just glad I could help." He looked at the clock on the wall. 9:30PM. "I should put him to bed and head home. I have work tomorrow."

Sylvia nodded in understanding and Rafael made his way to Carlos' room. He gently laid Carlos on the bed and adjusted his blanket.

"Rafael?" he heard a small voice say.

He looked and saw Carlos staring at him with glazed eyes, the pain medication making him groggy.

"Hey, hermanito," Rafael responded. "I'm about to head home, okay? You fell asleep downstairs, I just wanted to put you to bed." He leaned over and kissed Carlos' forehead. "Good night, Carlitos. I'll see if I can come by tomorrow, okay?"

Carlos nodded. "Good night, Rafael," he said before he closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

><p>Rafael was trapped in his thoughts on his way home. His thoughts drifted between his two brothers, Johnny, and this whole situation in general.<p>

As he walked to his fancy apartment, he fiddled with his keys, not paying attention to his surroundings.

He began to unlock the door, when a hand grabbed him from behind. He watched his keys fall to the ground as his back was held against a stranger's chest and he struggled to set himself free.

A knife was suddenly held to his throat. That knife became the object of his focus. Make the wrong move and die.

"Try and scream," the voice said. "And you'll die before you can get a word out."

Rafael swallowed the lump in his throat. "Okay," he said. "J-just take what y-you want, okay?" He tried not to make his fear evident, but he knew that he was failing miserably. It's been a while since Rafael had been threatened with a weapon before. And honestly, he's been threatened many times.

"If it was money that I wanted," the stranger said. "I woulda been here and gone before you'd be able to realize it."

"Th-then...what do you want?" Rafael asked. The rate of his breathing had increased and hands were shaking violently.

"I have a bone to pick with you, Rafael," the man answered. The fact that this man knew Rafael's name really freaked him out. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you."

Rafael inhaled. "I...I wanna see my brother grow up first," he said in a small voice. That was all he could think to say. He really did want to be there when Carlos grows up, become a real man, and achieve something great. He couldn't do that if he was dead.

The stranger laughed, sending chills down Rafael's spine. "That's cute." He held Rafael tighter, causing him to give a small yelp. "But your little brother isn't going to live to be a man if you and him don't back off."

"Wh-what do you mean?" Rafael asked.

"Tell 'em Johnny sent ya."

Rafael's eyes widened. It was Johnny. This was getting old. Why hadn't he figured that out before? Before he could react, he was shoved away, being released from Johnny's grasp. He landed on the floor, close to his keys that he had dropped earlier. He stayed on the ground, trying to get his breathing under control.

Carlos' fear had come true. Johnny was coming out again, but not for Carlos this time.

Rafael slowly rose off the ground. The only thing he could hear was the sound of his rapidly beating heart and is heavy breathing. He mentally slapped himself. How could he not tell that was Johnny all along?

He shook off the thought as he let himself inside his apartment. He knew one thing was for sure: He could NOT tell Carlos about this. If he did, Carlos would go into a complete panic, worrying and crying himself to death. No, Carlos had to stay out of the picture for now. But Rafael knew a person he could talk to. He really didn't want to do it, but did he have another choice? Tomorrow, he was going to pay Omar a visit.

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><p><strong>This time it's Rafael not getting a break...Sorry.<strong>

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	19. Someone Do Something!

**I should be studying :O  
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**This story has made it to 100 reviews! Yippee!  
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**Enjoy!  
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><p>Omar was never scared of Johnny. Okay, he was never scared of Johnny before he started owing Johnny money. Then Omar's views of Johnny began changing a little.<p>

But as of now, all he could feel was hate for Johnny. Not fear, not admiration. Pure Hate. Extreme anger.

Johnny had single handedly begun to tear up the Garcia family.

Was it really because Omar had owed him money? Was it because Johnny had already felt that Omar had planned to quit working with Johnny. Or was Johnny getting bored so he attacked Carlos to gain a small feel of excitement?

He beat Carlos to a pulp. What if he wasn't done?

Omar groaned as he laid on his couch, too lazy to walk to his bedroom and sleep.

Suddenly, his phone rang, causing him to jump.

"Hello," he answered fiercely, not even bothering to check who was calling.

_"Omar, my boy!"_ Johnny's voice rang in Omar's ears.

Omar's eyes widened. "J-Johnny," he simply replied. Man, he should have really checked his caller ID. He really didn't feel like dealing with Johnny right now, especially in light of recent events.

Johnny noticed the shock in Omar's voice. _"Surprised to hear from me?"_ he asked.

Omar was extremely mad. He could imagine the smug expression Johnny was probably wearing on his face right now. "Not really," he finally replied. "Am I allowed to ask WHY I'm hearing from you?"

_"I heard about your brother, Omar,"_ Johnny replied with a tone that Omar was all too familiar with. A tone of fake sincerity. A tone Johnny would use because he wanted to ward off any suspicion when someone was attacked or killed. A tone Johnny used when he knew he was guilty. _"I just wanna say that I'm there for you, kid."_

"You're acting like he's dead."

_"Oh, c'mon, Omar. You know that's not true,"_ Johnny said. _"It's just that I can imagine that this is a hard time for you so I'm showing my support."_

Omar scoffed. "Well I don't need it."

_"What?"_ Johnny asked. _"What has gotten into you lately?"_

"What has gotten into YOU?" Omar retorted. "You think you can up and do that to me and then turn around and pretend to be there for me? I'm not stupid, Johnny. I know that it was you who attacked Carlos!"

There was silence for a while. Omar felt his hands shaking as he waited for a response from Johnny.

_"The kid told you that?"_ Johnny finally said.

"No," Omar lied. "I can put things together. I owe you money, which pisses you off. You threaten my family and then one of my brothers is found half dead! It's not that hard to figure out!"

Johnny chuckled. _"And what have you done with that information?"_

"N-nothing!" Omar lied again. "Yet!" he added, hoping that Johnny would become afraid.

Johnny laughed. _"You should really stop lying to me,"_ Johnny said. It was more of a command than a recommendation. "Now answer the question, but truthfully this time."

Omar sighed. "Carlos told the police. They know what you look like and they're coming after you." Omar was surprised at the fierceness coming from his voice.

_"Okay. That's all I wanted to hear,"_ Johnny said. _"Of course, I'm starting to think that Rafael regrets letting Carlos give the police a statement."_

Omar's heart started beating wildly at the sound of Rafael's name. "Wh-what did you do to Rafael?"

_"Nothing I did to Carlos, I'll give you that."_

Omar was furious. "What did you do?" he shouted into the phone.

_"Have a good night, Omar,"_ Johnny said. _"We'll keep in touch."_ The call ended.

Omar's mind was racing. He already felt bad enough that Carlos was attacked because of him. He couldn't live with himself if Rafael had been given the same fate. Omar broke from his thoughts and quickly dialed Rafael's number, begging that his little brother answered.

* * *

><p>Rafael got ready for bed. He was in the bathroom, when he glanced at the mirror. Johnny didn't cut him with the knife, but he somehow still left a bruise. His hands still hadn't stopped shaking, the mixture of fear and adrenaline still coursing through his veins. He leaned on the counter, taking deep breaths as he felt his heartbeat slowing down.<p>

"Great," Rafael breathed out. There was no way he could hide this from his parents...or Carlos.

He shrugged it off. He had time to make up a story for the next time he saw them. He was good at that, seeing as how he had learned to do that at a very early age.

Rafael exited his bathroom and headed straight to his bed. He was beginning to fall asleep, but his attempt was interrupted.

The sound of his phone violently vibrating on is bedside table made him gasp. He shakily reached for the offending device before seeing the caller ID. Omar's name flashed on the bright screen.

"O-Omar," Rafael breathed out as he answered the phone. He felt his nerves slowly calming down again. "What's up, man?"

Omar could tell that Rafael was still mad at him. But even then, he could hear something off in Rafael's voice. _"R-Rafael. Are y-you okay?"_

"Y-yeah, man," Rafael lied. "I'm cool."

_"Stop lying!"_ Omar demanded, causing Rafael to wince and temporarily bring his phone away from his ear. Once Omar had calmed down, he continued talking. _"D-did...Did Johnny do anything to you today?"_ he finally spit out.

The sound of Johnny's name made Rafael sigh. "O-Omar...what's going on?"

_"Did he?"_ Omar asked again.

"Y-yeah..." Rafael responded. "But nothing too bad, okay? I'm fine."

Omar sighed in relief. _"I'm...I'm so sorry for causing all of this. I understand that you're mad at me. I deserve it. I put the shortie in danger. Now you."_

"It's okay, bro," Rafael said, his anger from early that day had begun to dissolve. "I...Carlos would want me to forgive you. The fact that you've made an effort to change your life is okay...I shouldn't have punched you."

_"I still gotta do everything I can to make this right,"_ Omar said. _"I can't let Johnny keep doing this."_

Rafael heard something in Omar's voice that he hadn't heard in a long time. Determination. "Omar...What are you gonna do...?"

_"Don't worry about it, Rafael,"_ Omar quickly responded.

"I...I just don't want you doing anything that'll get you in trouble...or, I don't know...killed!" Rafael pointed out.

_"I'll be fine, little bro,"_ Omar said. _"Once I figure something out, Johnny's going down."_

"Hey," Rafael exclaimed. "He went after Carlos and held a knife to my throat. I'm angry. Real angry. But please, Omar," Rafael pleaded. "Don't do anything. Let the cops handle this."

_"I know Johnny better than anybody,"_ Omar stated. _"They're not gonna handle this."_

"No. Omar, listen to me!-" Rafael tried to stop him, but Omar's mind was made up.

_"Everything will be fine, Rafael,"_ Omar said, cutting his brother off. He took a deep breath. _"I'll see you later."_

"No, wait!" Rafael screamed out before he heard the sound of a call disconnecting. He cursed under his breath, not imagining what Omar's definition of "handling it" would be.

"Oh my God, Omar," Rafael said under his breath. "What are you gonna do?"

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><p>The next morning, Carlos did absolutely nothing but lay in his bed and stare at the ceiling before he received a knock at his bedroom door.<p>

His mom stepped in, a big smile on her face. "Mijo," she sang out. "You have a visitor."

Carlos eagerly sat up. He already knew the visitor was one of his three best friends. The only mystery was which best friend it was.

His eyes lit up as he saw a tall brunette walk into the room. "James!" Carlos yelled happily as he got off his bed and enveloped James in a big hug.

"Hey Carlos!" James said, happily returning the hug. "I missed you so much."

"Right back at you," Carlos replied as the two walked back over to Carlos' bed to relax. "I'm so glad you came," Carlos said as he messed with his sling. "So much has been going on and seriously, I thought I'd go crazy."

"You're allowed to go crazy every once in a while, buddy," James said. "So what exactly _has _been going on."

Carlos sighed. "I...Well...nothing really," Carlos stumbled out and sighed.

"You and I both know that's not true," James quickly replied. He looked into Carlos' eyes and already knew that something was up. "Carlos. Tell me what's wrong."

Carlos sighed. "It's...I shouldn't even be this worried...but I gave my statement to the police."

"Isn't that a good thing?" James asked. "This guy will get what he deserves because you were able to speak out."

"I know," Carlos replied. "But...I always feel that something isn't right. The guy who attacked me, I knew him! Me and Rafael met him in Omar's neighborhood. If he found me so easily, think of how easy it will be for him to find Rafael! What if this guy...what if he hurts Rafael, too?"

James just stared as he tears forming in Carlos' eyes. James couldn't imagine how Carlos was feeling with the plethora of emotions swarming inside of him right now. He could see some of the emotions wore on Carlos' face. Especially in his eyes. Confusion. Worry. Fear. Sadness. And that was just a few.

"Carlos," James finally said as he wrapped an arm around his smaller friend. "Rafael will be fine."

Carlos snuggled closer with James. "I hope so."

They sat in a comfortable silence for a while. That was fine with the both of them. Just James' presence alone was giving Carlos peace of mind.

Carlos later told James everything going on, especially Omar and Rafael acting weird around each other at the hospital. Rafael and Omar still hadn't told Carlos how Johnny was connected to the three Garcia brothers, so Rafael's sudden hostility made Carlos confused. One thing Carlos didn't tell James was the confession from his family. That Manuel had abused his brothers. He couldn't get himself to talk about it. Whether it was because he still couldn't believe it or if he just didn't want to say it, he wasn't sure.

All he wanted was for someone to be there for him. For someone to tell him that everything will be okay. And thankfully, he got James.

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><p><strong>I'm not quite sure how I feel with this chapter.<br>**

**I know you guys have wanted the other BTR boys out back in this, so this is me trying to sneak 'em back in here.  
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**How'd you like it?  
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	20. You Seem a Little Lost

**Now, before you read this chapter and say, "OMG. What kinda crap is this. Your writing absolutely sucks." Lemme tell you something. I was writing this chapter and I only needed a few more sentences to finish it. What happens. Computer meltdown! And how much of this chapter was saved? Nothing! NOTHING! I had to start from the beginning! So by that point, I was extremely pissed off, and kinda gave up with this chapter. Sorry if you see errors :(  
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><p>Rafael furiously tapped his finger on his desk at work. He couldn't concentrate all day and was glad that he had only forty five minutes left. But even those forty five minutes felt like years. All he could think about was Omar. What was Omar talking about last night?<p>

"Rafael," his boss's voice rang out, making him jump.

"Uh, Mr. Davis," Rafael responded to the middle aged brunette standing in front of him. "I-is there something I can do for you?" he asked.

"Yes," Mr. Davis responded. "Go home."

Rafael's heart started beating fast. Was he being fired? Sure he had been messing up a lot today. But it's just been one day. He could do so much better. "Wh-what? Why?"

"Relax, Rafael," Mr. Davis said. "You can go home for today." Mr. Davis gave Rafael a look of sympathy. "How's your little brother?"

Rafael took a deep breath. "H-he's getting better...His right arm is still in a sling, though. Thanks for asking."

Mr. Davis nodded in understanding. "I've noticed that you've been off your game today. Why don't you take a break? Come back Monday."

"Th-thank you Mr. Davis," Rafael said as he rose from his desk, getting ready to leave.

"Anytime, Rafael." Mr. Davis smiled and started walking away. "See ya Monday."

Rafael quickly gathered his things and walked out of his office.

He tried to compose himself as he entered his car and started driving off. He planned on heading to one place and one place only. Omar's place. Rafael hoped that he could at least say something to Omar that would click in his older brother's head, making him realize that he should do anything stupid...If he hasn't already.

When Rafael pulled into Omar's neighborhood, he parked his car, ready to get out of it, when he caught the sight of Omar walking to his own car.

Omar had a worried expression on his face, which scared Rafael.

"Omar, what are you about to do?" Rafael whispered to himself as he watched Omar enter his car, getting ready to drive off.

To follow, or not to follow? That is the question. Rafael couldn't help but wonder where exactly Omar was heading. Of course, he would also feel extremely stupid if Omar was just planning on making a trip to Walgreens to pick up a box of cereal. Rafael sighed. He was going to follow Omar. He'd rather be safe than sorry, that was for sure.

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><p>Manuel and Carlos sat together on the couch watching TV. Manuel was extremely glad that Carlos was allowing him to connect with him once again. Manuel felt bad that Carlos had found out about that horrible secret he had kept. He could only wonder if Carlos had lost a large amount of respect for him.<p>

Carlos began laughing as Shawn Spencer went "boneless" on Gus. Manuel smiled. His son had laughed. It was the most beautiful sound to him right now, seeing as how Carlos rarely laughed or spoke. Instead, it was as if his son was living in constant fear and sadness.

Manuel wrapped his arm around Carlos' shoulder. He hesitated at first, fearing that Carlos would only push him away and their moment would be over. But he tried it anyway, and he felt his son welcome the embrace.

They were in that position for about five minutes before Manuel's phone rang. He smiled when he saw Rafael's name glow on the caller ID. "Mijo," he greeted his son happily. His happiness wavered when he heard his son begin talking.

_"P-Papi..."_ Rafael greeted. _"Papi. I...I need your help."_

Manuel jumped at the sound of Rafael's voice. "Rafael. What's wrong?"

Carlos grew worried at the sound of his father's voice. His eyes pleaded for his dad to tell him what was going on, but Manuel kept his attention focused on Rafael.

"Rafael. What's wrong?" Manuel repeated. Rafael never asked anyone for help. It wasn't because he was stubborn, it was just because he was completely capable of handling things on his own. He was a very independent person and proud to be one. The fact that he was asking for help was really scaring Manuel.

_"I haven't been completely honest with you, Papi,"_ Rafael confessed.

Manuel thought back to the time that Rafael had confessed to not being "completely honest." It was about Omar beating Carlos. Manuel glanced at Carlos, who still had a worried expression on his face.

_"I can't explain everything now. Let's just say,"_ Rafael began. _"Let's just say that Omar and I know who attacked Carlos...Omar's about to confront him, Papi. This guy's dangerous. I didn't know what else to do so I called you."_

"Okay, okay," Manuel said. "Just tell me where you are and I'll come for you."

Once Rafael had given his father the address, he began getting ready to leave.

"What's going on?" Carlos demanded to know.

Manuel sighed. "N-nothing, mijo. Just stay here and wait until I come back."

"No!" Carlos cried out. "Something's wrong with Rafael and I wanna know! I coming with you."

* * *

><p>Rafael sighed as he hung up the phone. As he looked at the place that used to be a bar, he couldn't imagine what Omar had gotten himself into. He watched Omar walk in there and it had been almost ten minutes with no activity.<p>

Rafael was now wondering whether he should go in there himself, or if Omar was really handling things. He ran his fingers through his hair in frustration.

Time felt like it was slowly ticking. Rafael shoved his phone in his pocket. He had no idea why he called his dad. But something inside of him told him to just do it. That it'll work out in the end.

Rafael sighed once again when he saw a large moving shadow. He turned his head to the left to look out his window, thinking that he'd see a bird or something like that.

"Someone looks a little lost," a stranger that stood at Rafael's car said.

Rafael wasn't bothered by the fact that a stranger had randomly approached his car. What bothered him was that the random stranger was holding a gun, and was pointing it straight at Rafael's head.

"You wanna step out of the car?" the stranger asked nicely, still pointing the gun at Rafael.

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><p><strong>Wow, Rafael. Not again.<br>**

**What'd you think of that?  
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	21. Trigger

**Okay. You guys have been waiting for the next chapter, right?**

**...Probably not. But here's the next one anyway!**

**Enjoy!**

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><p>Rafael was shoved to the floor. After his body collided with the floor, he looked up at was met by the eyes of Omar and Johnny.<p>

"Rafael!" Omar yelled. "What are you doing here?" That's what Omar said. What he really wanted to say was, "Rafael, you stupid idiot! DIDN'T I TELL YOU TO BACK OFF? And they say I'm the dumb one! Dios mio, Rafael! I could kill you for this but Johnny might just beat me to it!" Omar was seething on the inside, but didn't want to let that show.

The man that brought Rafael started speaking. "I found him outside." He glared at Rafael as he addressed Johnny. "Should I take care of him?"

Johnny smiled. "Nah...he's a friend, Mikey." He waved " Mikey away, telling the man to leave.

"Rafael!" Omar called again.

"Don't worry about me," Rafael said sarcastically as he rose off the ground. "I'm completely okay, thanks for asking."

Omar just rolled his eyes. _Dad's really gonna kill me now,_ Omar said in his head.

Johnny interrupted the interaction between the two brothers. he loudly cleared his throat, causing Rafael to jump. "Are you two done?" he asked impatiently.

"Sorry," Rafael muttered as he shifted his gaze down.

"Thank you," Johnny replied. He stared down at Omar and Rafael, wondering what to do about his new guest. He finally just looked at Omar. "Okay. Now tell me again why you came to see me."

Omar sighed. "I just wanna know why you brought my little brothers into this mess."

Rafael raised one eyebrow at that statement. There was no hiding the fact that Omar cared deeply for Carlos. No matter how much he tried to deny it, Rafael and Carlos could see right through that. He smirked until he heard Johnny's voice interrupting his thoughts.

"You're afraid I'll come after the little guy because he talked to the cops?" Johnny asked rhetorically. He looked over to Rafael. "Did you have a need to complain?"

Rafael quickly shook his head. A knife to the throat was not something anyone should get worked up over...right?

"Good," Johnny replied. "Then we have nothing to talk about. Right, Omar?"

"Uh. The shortie!" Omar reminded Johnny. He sighed. "I just wanna know. Did you beat him because you thought I owed you...or did you do it because you knew I was quitting?"

Johnny shook his head. "See. I know you're not quitting because...I decide when you quit."

Rafael gulped. This can't be heading anywhere good.

"Nope," Omar responded. "I'm done, Johnny. I'm quit following you. I'm turning my life around. There's not a thing you can do about it."

Johnny shook his head again. "How wrong you are." He reached into the back of his pants and pulled out a gun. "This," he said to indicate the gun in his hand. "Is the only way you can leave."

* * *

><p>Carlos wouldn't let Manuel leave unless he was allowed to tag along. Manuel desperately wanted Carlos to stay home, but Carlos wouldn't allow that.<p>

After minutes of arguing, Manuel allowed Carlos to come with him. He knew he'd probably regret it later. He just had a weird feeling in his gut.

Manuel nervously looked over to his son. As they drove closer to the address that Rafael had given him, the anxiety in their body grew more and more.

"Papi," Carlos said softly. "W-where did Rafael go?"

"I don't know," Manuel responded. He couldn't tell Carlos that the place they were going was a place he'd had multiple drug busts before.

"But...but why is he here?" Carlos asked. "What's over here that he had to come here and call you?"

Manuel sighed. He had to tell Carlos what was going on, but he couldn't imagine how. He didn't want Carlos to know, but Carlos needed to know. He glanced over at his youngest son again. "The man that attacked you," Manuel said. "Your brothers know who did it...and they're going to confront him."

Carlos' eyes widened. He could feel his heartbeat getting faster. His hands started shaking uncontrollably. "Wh-what?" Carlos breathed out. "Why? No. He'll get hurt." Carlos paused as he tried to process everything going on. He started breathing faster. "M-me and Rafael know who Johnny was. We ran into him a few times before the attack but...Omar...what does he have to do with this?" A thought suddenly dawned on Carlos. "Papi! You gotta call the cops! Johnny's dangerous!"

"I know. I know," Manuel said. He didn't ignore Carlos confession of having known about Johnny before his attack. That wasn't important right now. What was important was calming Carlos down. "Look, I texted my partner, okay? I'm keeping him on standby."

Rafael and Omar were going to be safe. They had to be safe.

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><p>"Johnny," Omar said to the angry man. The gun was pointed at him so that was the object of Omar's focus. "P-put the gun down. We can talk about this."<p>

Johnny scoffed. "You Garcias are really a piece of work, aren't you?" he asked, completely unamused.

"If that's what you call it," Rafael muttered. Johnny just glared at him. Rafael sighed. "Did you really think you could keep a hold on my brother forever? Omar doesn't commit to ANYTHING. I'm surprised he stuck with you for this long."

"Gee, thanks bro," Omar replied, slightly hurt.

"Sorry," Rafael responded. "But you know it's true."

Omar shrugged in agreement.

"Will you two just shut up?" Johnny yelled.

The two brothers quickly shut up. The room was filled with silence. They heard something outside that all made them curious.

"Is...is that a siren?" Johnny asked.

Rafael's eyes widened. It was a siren. _Oh Papi._

"Did you call the cops?" Johnny asked Rafael, now pointing the gun at Rafael's chest.

Rafael started shaking his head. "I swear I didn't."

"Johnny," Omar said. "Put the gun down. If those really are the cops, you don't want them to hear that gunshot. They'll barge in here faster than you can run."

Johnny smirked, gun still held firmly in his hand.

"Johnny," Omar said as he slowly approached Johnny. "Just give me the gun. We can't have the cops coming in here."

Everything seemed to be working out just fine. At the moment.

But everything changed. A sudden loud noise at the door caused everyone to jump, including Johnny, who still had the gun in his hand. It all happened so fast. Something startled Johnny, who panicked. There was a loud BANG. Two voices were screaming at Johnny, but one voice yelled at someone else.

"RAFAEL!"

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><p><strong>Cliffhangerrrrrrrrrr!<strong>

**Wow I'm muy muy evil. Sorry for the fact that Carlos hasn't had much airtime. He'll dominate in the next chapters :)  
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**Leave a review please! (Notice how they enlarged the "Review this Chapter" button today. So funny :D  
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	22. I'm Sorry

**You wanna know a secret? I had this chapter typed up a long time ago. **

**More angst because really...that's all I know how to write :D**

**Enjoy!  
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><p>"RAFAEL!" Omar yelled as he heard the bang and watched his younger brother go down. To Omar it all happened in slow motion. He watched in pure agony as Rafael's body hit the ground with a hard thud. Omar wanted to punch Johnny, or even better, grab the gun and shoot him, but two cops had already intervened. He rushed over to his brother and got on his knees. "R-Rafael?"<p>

Rafael gasped weakly. His face was twisted in pain. There was a blood stain blossoming on Rafael's shirt. Rafael had been shot in the chest.

Omar stared wide eyed as he brought shaky hands to Rafael's wound. "I-I'm so sorry, hermanito," Omar said as he heard Rafael moan.

"RAFAEL!" Omar heard the familiar shriek coming from Carlos. The distraught boy, followed by their father, ran up to the two. "What...what happened?" Carlos asked, completely in shock.

"A-accident," Rafael weakly responded. It was obvious that he was having difficulty breathing.

"Don't talk, Rafael," their father commanded, already feeling the tears falling from his face. "Save your strength. An officer outside called the paramedics. You'll be fine."

"P-Papi," Rafael whispered, finally realizing that his father was in the room. He winced as pain shot through his body. "I-it hurts."

Manuel gasped. Not because because of the plainly obvious statement that his son just made. Manuel had been shot before so he knew that pain. But this time, Rafael was the one that had been shot. Blood had begun to stain Rafael's teeth. That just made Manuel start panicking. The bullet must have hit a lung.

Omar could feel Rafael's blood seeping through his fingers. The life of his brother slipping through his fingers. He pressed harder, hoping that would provide some type of help. He couldn't ignore the pool of blood forming on the ground.

Carlos was a sobbing mess at this point. He held Rafael's hand, desperate not to let go. He was chanting something. Something that sounded like "please don't go" but no one was really sure. His words had slurred and been jumbled up because of his crying.

Rafael found extra strength to bring a shaky hand up. He cupped Carlos' face, wiping away tears with his thumb. "I''ll be... f-fine."

"You promised you wouldn't get hurt!" Carlos reminded him.

"My bad," Rafael tried to joke. He smiled, showing his red teeth. His eyes were fluttering, and his breaths had turned into wheezes. If an ambulance didn't come on time, Rafael could drown in his own blood.

"Stay awake, mijo," Manuel said as he gently tapped Rafael's face. "Stay with us." Manuel breathed deeply. It was almost a strange case of deja vu. Here he was, discovering another one of his sons dying in front of him.

The sound of Rafael's voice tore Manuel from his thoughts. "Pa-" Rafael was interrupted by a series of wet coughs.

"Easy, Rafael," Omar said, trying to hide the tears threatening to fall from his eyes. At this point, Rafael wasn't looking too good. His usually caramel colored face had significantly paled. Blood had started to drip from his mouth.

"J-Johnny's been arrested?" Rafael whispered. He needed to find a way to keep awake. Unfortunately for him, talking was the only way to get that done.

"Y-yes," Carlos responded.

"G-good," Rafael responded. There were a few seconds of silence before he started speaking again. "If I don't-"

"Just stop," Manuel said. He knew where Rafael was going with this. The "If I Don't Make It" speech. Manuel hated that speech. God forbid he'd have to hear it from his own son.

"'m... sorry," Rafael sad weakly. He was about to say something further, but was cut of by a series of coughs. Each cough hurt more than the last one, and Rafael could feel himself slipping away.

Everyone waited anxiously for Rafael's coughing to stop. Manuel had been running his fingers through Rafael's hair throughout the whole thing, telling him to hang on just a little while longer. He could practically hear the sirens.

"R-Rafael?" Carlos asked, noticing his brother's body going limp once the coughing had ceased. When Carlos got no response, he started shaking his brother. "Rafael!"

Manuel laid his head on Rafael's chest. His eyes widened as he noticed an important detail. "H-he's...he's not breathing."

"No no no no no no no no no," Carlos chanted. He grabbed Rafael by the shoulders and started shaking him not so gently. "Rafael! Wake up! You can't leave me! Not like this! Wake up. Please!"

Manuel pulled Carlos away, using one arm to hold the crying boy. Manuel used his free hand to press two fingers to Rafael's neck. He sighed in relief when he felt a weak pulse. He sent a nod toward Omar, who automatically knew what that had meant.

Paramedics barged through the doors of the building. Paramedics gently pushed away Omar, Manuel, and Carlos away from Rafael's seemingly dead body. Manuel watched closely as a tube snaked down Rafael's throat. The paramedics placed Rafael on the stretcher, not allowing his father or any of his brothers on the ambulance. Not enough room.

"L-let's go," Manuel said to his two remaining sons. His voice was cracking and he wasn't ashamed of the tears falling from his eyes.

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><p>Omar found himself sitting on an uncomfortable waiting room chair once again. Carlos' cries echoed in his ear. The only emotion Omar felt was guilt. It was all his fault Rafael got shot. It was all his fault that Rafael followed him to that warehouse. It was his fault for getting both of his brothers involved with Johnny.<p>

"Manuel," they heard a panicked voice call out. Omar looked up to see Sylvia running towards them. He raised an eyebrow, because he honestly could not remember anyone calling her. But then again, the ride from the warehouse to the hospital had been a complete blur for Omar.

"What happened?" she asked when Manuel stood and pulled her into a hug.

Omar stood up. "It's my fault," he said without hesitation. He nervously rubbed the back of his neck. "C-can we...can we talk about this later?" he pleaded.

Sylvia nodded and took a seat. She pulled Carlos' trembling body into a hug.

Omar began sobbing uncontrollably. When they had arrived at the hospital, he ran to the bathroom. For ten minutes straight, Omar washed his hands, desperate to rid of any blood that belonged to his beloved little brother. Right after, he ran to a toilet and vomited, the memories of his brother making him nauseous. Now Omar sat in the waiting room, the smell of blood still plaguing him. His hands still felt sticky, as if Rafael's blood was still drying on his hands. The image of his brother almost bleeding out on the warehouse floor made him want to vomit again.

"Omar." His father's voice made him jump. "I want you to know that we don't blame you for this...and neither will Rafael."

"He almost died because of me." He paused and looked over to Carlos, who was still crying and being held by his mother, who was also crying. "Both of them almost died because of me." None of this would have happened if Omar had just stayed clean in the first place.

Manuel sighed and pulled Omar into a hug. A gesture Omar would have normally pushed away. But right now, it was what he needed. He returned the hug, holding on to his father tight "I'm so sorry Papi," he sobbed out. Manuel kept silent. He just rubbed circles into Omar's back, causing his older son to calm down a little bit.

Three hours had passed before they received news. They had all become extremely tired. Carlos eventually fell asleep, which was okay with everyone. Carlos was becoming too worked up and anxious, causing everyone to worry. He was crying so hard that he was choking on his sobs.

Carlos had his head laying on Sylvia's shoulder. He was deep in sleep, his only movement being the occasional stir and soft moan.

The doors swung open, revealing a man in green scrubs walking towards their direction. When Rafael's name was called, Manuel and Omar were quick to stand up.

"He is he?" Manuel asked as calmly as he could.

"I was the surgeon for Mr. Garcia in the OR," the doctor began. "They're currently moving Mr. Garcia to the ICU, seeing as how he's in a very weak state. The bullet collapsed his lung. Thankfully, we were able to repair the damage done. You have one lucky boy."

"So," Manuel said, trying to take all of that in. "My son...he'll be okay?"

The doctor smiled and nodded. "As I stated earlier, he's in a very weak state and will be for quite some time, but from what we gathered, he should make a full recovery."

Manuel sighed in relief. Omar would have collapsed in relief if it wasn't for the fact that he had placed his hand on Manuel's shoulder.

"He's gonna be okay," Omar whispered to himself.

"I'll have a nurse call you when Mr. Garcia has been moved to the ICU."

"Thank you," Sylvia said from her seat, still cradling her son. "Thank you so much." She wiped the tears falling from her eyes.

The doctor smiled and walked away as Manuel and Omar plopped back into their seats. They were back to waiting. At least now they knew Rafael was okay.

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><p><strong>Yay! Rafael lives! I made this chapter WAY to dramatic haha. XD<strong>

**When you're done leaving your review (hint hint wink wink), take a visit to my profile. I have a poll up for two story ideas that I have. I'm almost done with my other story, and let's face it, this story will end soon. So, I wantcha to go on my poll and choose the story that you think will be interesting. **

**Later, peeps! **


	23. Is Everything Okay?

**Let me apologize ahead of time for this chapter...**

**Here's a filler chapter thingy to warn you that...I'll be vanishing! The remainder of this month is gonna be a brutal killer for me. XD  
><strong>

**Enjoy!**

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><p>Rafael slowly opened his eyes. He couldn't tell where he was, how he got there, or why he was even there in the first place.<p>

He was only aware of two things. The shrill, steady beeping sounds, and the fact that HE COULDN'T BREATHE!

He felt a foreign object lodged in his throat, blocking his airway. His eyes widened. He started panicking, his first solution was pulling whatever was shoved down his throat out. His shaky hands reached for the annoying object, but instead, a strong hand grabbed his wrist.

"Rafael," he heard a voice call in the distance. "Just relax," the voice told him.

He ignored the voice. Instead, Rafael started fighting with whoever was holding him down. He then felt two more pairs of hands trying to stop him, and another small hand running their fingers through his hair.

Rafael tried to yell, scream, beg. He tried to do something! But the tube in his throat stopped his ability to form a sound. Rafael only felt one thing right now. Fear. He tried fighting harder.

"Rafael! Stop please!" he heard someone say.

The panic in Rafael's chest grew. Between the feeling of suffocation and the multiple strange hands constantly touching him, he couldn't relax. Rafael could hear the beeping sound going faster and faster, and it really irritated him.

Rafael heard another strange voice. He felt a sharp sting in the crook of his elbow. He could feel unconsciousness desperately pulling him in. He tried fighting it. He constantly blinked his eyes, hoping the sleep threatening to come would go away.

Rafael opened his eyes once. He could see the images of his father, mother, brothers, and a strange man in a white coat surrounding him. They all had scared expressions on their faces.

All of Rafael's thoughts ceased as darkness began to surround him. He closed his eyes, and fell asleep in peace.

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><p>Carlos stared with wide eyes at the sight of his brother being sedated. The doctor slowly removed the offending object from Rafael's throat. Manuel wiped the tears that had fallen down Rafael's face during his panic.<p>

Though Rafael was already deep in sleep, Sylvia still ran her fingers through Rafael's hair.

Omar let go of Rafael's wrist. He gasped as he saw the hand shaped bruise that formed on his little brother's wrist. Omar didn't realize how hard he was holding down his brother. "Gosh, Rafael," Omar whispered. "I'm so sorry."

"H-he really scared me," Carlos said, still staring at his unconscious older brother. He started crying again. "Is he gonna be okay?"

"He'll be okay," Manuel said. He approached his scared son, allowing Carlos to cry in his chest. "He was just scared...like we were."

"Why did he react like that?" Carlos asked.

"When you were intubated," Omar said. "You were unconscious throughout the whole thing. Rafael woke up and felt like he couldn't breathe. The tube breathes for you, leaving you to feel like you're suffocating, when in reality, the tube is actually helping you."

"He acted like he couldn't recognize us," Carlos stated.

"He was just tired," Manuel said. "He's been through surgery, he's on strong pain medications. He's probably very disoriented."

Omar sighed. "He wouldn't be on strong meds or disoriented if it wasn't for me," he muttered. Omar looked at the ground, trying to hide the sight of his eyes watering up.

"Hey," Manuel said. He approached his oldest son and grabbed his shoulders, giving him a gentle shake. "I've already told you. We don't blame you, and you shouldn't blame yourself."

"How can I not blame myself?" Omar yelled out, causing everyone to jump. "I willingly went to Johnny six years ago. I knew what he was like! That didn't stop me. And look what happened. My two little brothers try to form a real relationship with me and get punished for it!"

"Omar, listen-" Manuel tries to reason with his son, but Omar cuts him off.

"No, Papi! You Listen! You saw your youngest son DIE! His heart stopped and we almost lost him. Rafael almost bled out on his and he STOPPED breathing!" Omar felt that no one understood how scary it felt to watch his little brother get shot, bleed, groan in pain, and eventually stop breathing. The person who had tried not to give up every time Omar messed up. Omar started crying. His knees wobbled and he was sure that he would collapse. Instead, he felt a pair of arms wrap around him.

"It's okay, Omar," Carlos whispered. "Rafael's okay now. I'm okay. Johnny's jail." He held his brother tighter. "Everything's okay."

Omar sobbed a little bit before returning Carlos' hug.

"It was all Johnny's fault," Carlos continued saying. "And he's gone now."

Omar relaxed into Carlos' touch. "Th-thank you Carlitos."

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><p><strong>The next chapter will definitely have Kendall, James, and Logan. Promise!<strong>


	24. The Strong One

**This month wasn't as mean to me as I suspected, and since I was able to sneak in a little time to write this chapter, I decided to just post it.**

**Can you believe we're almost done? I can't. I had so much fun writing Rafael and Omar that I will be so sad to see 'em go :(**

**Enjoy!**

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><p>"Carlos," Logan began. "What happened?" When the boys had received calls from Carlos, begging them to meet them at the hospital, he hadn't told them what happened. He was too busy crying. They met up with Carlos in the waiting room.<p>

Carlos sniffled. "I...I'm not really sure. We found him like that. All I know was that he was shot in the chest. H-he stopped breathing!"

Carlos' three friends shared glances with each other The past month had been a lot for their friend to take in, and they could see how much it was effecting him.

"But he's okay now," Kendall said, hoping it would soothe Carlos.

Kendall loved the relationship that Rafael and Carlos shared. It was perfect. Kendall remembered the time Katie was born. When he saw his little sister for the first time, he promised that he would be like Rafael. Her shield, her best friend, her comforter. Everything she needed. And it was all because of Rafael. Kendall was feeling the pain of knowing that Rafael was shot. He could only imagine how bad Carlos was hurting right now.

"He promised me he wouldn't let Johnny hurt him," Carlos said in a low voice. His three friends had to strain their ears in order to truly understand what he had just said.

Growing up, Kendall believed that Rafael could do everything. When the boys were ten, Rafael and his girlfriend got in a car accident. Hie girlfriend eventually died, and Rafael got a concussion. It taught them that as much as they really wanted to believe it, Rafael couldn't do everything. He couldn't save his girlfriend from dying. He couldn't stop himself from getting hurt. Rafael was human. He couldn't prevent every bad thing from coming his way. What Rafael can do, though, was tough out those bad things. That's why Rafael was amazing. He wasn't invincible. He was strong.

"Th-the doctor said he should be waking up again soon.," Carlos randomly said. "He woke up a few hours ago...but they...they had to sedate him." Carlos choked on his last words. The image of Rafael being so scared and having to be sedated really hurt Carlos.

"I'm worried about Omar," Carlos said. His friends didn't know how to respond at the mention of Omar's name. Omar hurt their best friend. They, James especially, couldn't forgive Omar just yet. "He took all of this really hard," Carlos continued to say. "He blames me and Rafael being hospitalized on himself."

Logan raised an eyebrow. "W-why would Omar blame himself for this?" _Maybe all those years of hurting Carlos finally got to him?_

Carlos went wide-eyed. "N-no reason," he replied sheepishly.

His friends knew he was lying. They were close enough to know when they were lying to each other. "Carlos," James said softly, getting ready to kindly force Carlos to tell the truth. Before he could continue, a voice stopped them.

"Carlitos," Sylvia called out. She approached the boys. "Rafael-"

The sound of Rafael's name made Carlos stand up. "Is he okay?" he asked in a panicked voice.

Sylvia nodded, and Carlos visibly calmed down. "He's awake. Omar's with him and he's asking for you."

"Go," Kendall quickly said. "We'll be here when you're done."

Carlos wordlessly nodded and took off running. His body ran on default. He wasn't paying attention to where he was going. He just ran, and miraculously made it to Rafael's room.

He stood outside Rafael's door. Carlos had to take several deep breaths. He slowly turned the knob of door, his legs suddenly feeling weak.

"Carlitos," a weak voice croaked out as he entered. Rafael was laying in bed, a huge smile on his face. Omar sat in a chair beside Rafael's bed. Rafael extended his arms out. "You gonna give me a hug or do I have to beg for one?" Rafael joked, trying to lighten the mood.

Carlos dragged himself over to Rafael's bed. He grabbed his brother, engulfing him in a hug. When they separated, they stared into each others eyes.

"Sorry for scaring you like that, little guy," Rafael finally said. He paused and glanced at Omar. "I'm sorry for scaring the both of you like that."

"I'm sorry for putting you in that situation," Omar responded.

"I guess the person that needs to apologize is Johnny," Carlos finally said. He ran his finger through his hair. "Dios mio, Rafael, I thought we lost you. I've never been so scared in my life...I guess I understand how everyone felt when I...when my heart stopped."

Carlos' brothers looked down, vividly remembering that day.

Omar broke the silence. "If I could change anything in my life...I would probably say I would go back to the night mami went to the store to pick up my medicine and got in a car accident. I would go back and beg her not to leave...or lie to her and say that I wasn't sick, when really...I thought I was dying," Omar let out a humorless laugh. "But Papi met Sylvia...and Carlos came along. Gosh, Carlos. The things I did to you, I wish I could take it back too. I was a monster...but the biggest regret I have is meeting Johnny. He's a bigger monster than I was." Omar sighed. "I just hope everyone forgives all the stupid mistakes I made in my life."

Rafael grabbed Omar's hand. "I do...we all do, Omar."

Omar sighed. "Do you think we'll ever...I don't know...recover from this?"

"I know we will," Rafael replied. "The question is, Omar, are you okay?"

Omar nodded. "I am. I swear."

Rafael laughed. "So lemme get this straight. You turn to drugs, get caught up with a merciless gang leader, and get him angry...but WE," he said, indicating him and Carlos. "Are the ones that get punished for it?"

Omar shrugged, knowing that his brother was telling another joke. "I've always been the lucky one. You know that."

Carlos laughed. "So not fair."

Omar looked over to Carlos. Carlos sincerely laughed. It was a good sound for him to hear. It was sign that no matter what happened, everything was getting better again. They were all healing, mentally and physically.

Carlos and Omar were together for an hour and a half. They told each other jokes, caught Omar up on a lot of things he had missed over the years, and just talked about what was on their minds.

When Rafael yawned four times in fifteen minutes, his brothers knew that he was desperately needing sleep. The doctor came in as Rafael was closing his eyes, telling them to leave so that Rafael could get some rest. Omar and Carlos planted a kiss on Rafael's forehead, then walked out.

True to their word, Kendall, James, and Logan were still in the hospital. They all stood up and enveloped Carlos in a hug.

"He's okay," Carlos said joyfully. "Everything's okay."

"Of course he is," Kendall said. "He's Rafael."

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><p><strong>All around bromance! That's good, right?<strong>

**Thank you everyone for taking a part in my poll :D I already have an apparent winner (unless SIX people were to suddenly vote for my other story.) But alas, I shall keep the poll open until this story ends, since I'm a girl of my word :D**

**Did you like this chapter? One more to go!**


	25. Epilogue

**Final chapter :'( I feel sad yet proud at the same time, ya know?  
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**Enjoy!**

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><p><strong>Three months later<strong>

Carlos wiped a stray tear from his eye as he finished packing. He was leaving. Leaving his home. Leaving his normal way of life. Leaving his brothers...

There was a knock at his bedroom door, causing him to put on a fake, joyful demeanor. "Come in," he finally choked out.

The door slowly opened. "Hey, hermanito," Rafael said as he walked in. Omar was behind him.

Carlos smiled at the sight of his two older brothers. He pulled them in a group hug, not wanting to let go. Not wanting to leave them.

"So this is it, huh?" Omar finally asked, breaking the silence.

Carlos let more tears fall from his face. He nodded. "It all happened so quickly."

"Hey," Rafael said. "You shouldn't be sad about this. I'm proud of you. We're all proud of you! My little brother's gonna be in a band!"

Rafael watched as his brother gave a sad smile. He couldn't help but wonder where all the years went. How his little brother grew up so quickly and turned into the person he is today. Omar thought about all of the times he could have spent with his little brother, but he missed those opportunities, and right when he and Carlos had formed a real relationship, Carlos gets ready to move to California to become a singer.

Carlos thought it was completely ironic. If there was anyone in his family that he thought would become a singer, it would have to have been Rafael. Carlos could remember Rafael's angelic voice singing anytime he couldn't sleep, had a bad dream, or just had a really bad day. Carlos would never forget the way Rafael sounded when he sang at the hospital. Rafael was the singer, not Carlos.

"What if I'm not that good?" Carlos asked, interrupting everybody's thoughts, including his own. "What if I get kicked out of the band or something?"

Omar laid a playful punch on Carlos' arm. "You won't," he reassured. "You guys are gonna make it big time. We know you will."

Carlos smiled again. "I'm just gonna miss you guys so much..." he muttered. Carlos wouldn't know what he would do being so far away from Rafael. Rafael had just always been there. And now that Omar was finally back into the picture, Carlos knew he was going to miss being around him too.

"You're gonna do great," Rafael finally said. "You and your friends are gonna rock. I just know it. Don't worry about us, okay?"

"But...I'm going to California. Away from you guys. Away from Mami and Papi," Carlos argued, but was cut off by Omar.

Omar grabbed Carlos' shoulder. "But you're gonna get Mrs. Knight and your three best friends. And I know they've treated you way better than I have," Omar confessed. "They're gonna be there for you, just like they always have."

"Will you guys ever come and visit?" Carlos asked, his voice pleading for them to say yes.

"Yes," both brothers replied at the same time.

"And anytime you need us, just call us up, okay?" Rafael said.

"But this has to be a two way street," Omar cut in. "You have to be coming over and visiting us too. Don't forget us when you become famous."

Carlos smiled. "I won't. I promise."

Carlos checked the time on his watch. He sighed. Jennifer was coming to pick him up any minute now.

"You ready, hermanito?" Rafael asked.

Carlos nodded. "No turning back now." He quickly wrapped his arms around his brothers once again and held them tight.

Without knocking, their parents walked into Carlos' room.

Carlos reluctantly let go of his brothers before he approached his parents and pulled them into a tight hug. "I'm gonna miss you two," he finally said.

"And we're going to miss you too, mijo," his mother replied.

Carlos' heart broke when he heard the sound of a vehicle honking outside. He felt another tear fall from his face and quickly wiped it away.

"Got your helmet, Carlos?" his father asked.

Carlos smiled. His helmet was laying on the bed, but Rafael grabbed it and handed it to him. Carlos put on his helmet and smacked it twice. "I wasn't gonna leave without it."

"And with that he'll conquer the world," Omar said sarcastically, never really understanding Carlos' obsession with his helmet.

Carlos grabbed his belongings. "I'll call all of you as soon as my plane lands," Carlos said as they all began to walk out of his room.

Once they were outside, Sylvia stopped him. "Give mama a kiss," she commanded, which Carlos happily obeyed. She started fixing his shirt. "Make sure you always listen to Jen, okay? I don't want you giving her trouble. And don't eat too much junk food. Do you have your epi-pen? And don't forget to-"

"Mama," Rafael cut in. "He's okay. Let him catch his plane."

"I love you guys," Carlos choked out.

"We love you too, mijo," his father replied. "Don't ever forget that."

Carlos nodded in obedience. He said goodbye one more time before heading to Mrs. Knight's van. He was starting his new life now, and he knew he wouldn't have been able to do make to where he was today if it wasn't for his family that he loved so much.

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><p><strong>Thank you everyone for sticking with me and this story! It means so much to me! Thank you for reviewing, favoriting (that's not a word), and alerting (I need to work on my grammar) this story! Say goodbye to Rafael and Omar. I know we'll all miss them.<strong>

**Now I can start working on the poll winner. Thanks to all who voted!**

**So...review one last time? :D**


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